Gloriosa dei Frari, commonly called the Frari, the venerable Franciscan
church in Venice. In our example, we are looking through the nave and choir
door into the apse. Titian’s High Renaissance painting is in the major chapel
(cappella maggiore). The Assumption of the Virgin—the altarpiece—is in
perfect harmony with the Gothic architecture of the apse.
The 23-foot-tall Assumption of the Virgin was consecrated on May 19, 1518.
This work is a three-tier composition. From the bottom up, it depicts the
apostles at the empty tomb of the Virgin, Mary being carried up to heaven,
and Mary greeted by God at the top. The scenes are linked together by the
apostles’ hands reaching up and the light connecting Mary and God. This is a
perfect example of the High Renaissance style as developed in Florence and
Rome, as we will see later in Raphael.
Another altarpiece, the Madonna of the Pesaro Family (c. 1519–1526), 16
feet tall, was commissioned for the left side of the nave. The Madonna and
Child are at the right; St. Peter is in the center; Jacopo Pesaro, who defeated
the Moors in battle, is at the lower left. Behind Jacopo, an armored soldier
holds a banner with the Borgia family coat of arms. Jacopo commanded
papal forces in the victory, and the pope was a Borgia; this also explains
the dominant position of St. Peter, who represents the Church. At the lower
left are two Moorish captives. At the lower right are male members of the
Pesaro family. Above them, St. Francis and another Franciscan commend
the family members to the Madonna. On the cloud bank above, two cherubs
hold a cross. This asymmetrical composition with an upward diagonal sweep
was new and was very inÀ uential.
Titian’s Bacchus and Ariadne (c. 1522) was painted for Alphonso d’Este,
duke of Ferrara, for a room called the Alabaster Chamber in his palace.
Giovanni Bellini had completed one of his last paintings for this room,
and Titian executed the remaining three paintings. The subject is Bacchus
discovering Ariadne. Ariadne has just been abandoned by Theseus, and
Bacchus leaps from his chariot to rescue her. Note the energetic design of the
space between Bacchus and Ariadne as well as the crown of Ariadne in the
sky. Titian had access to the translations of ancient literary sources from the
duke’s library, from which he derived this scene.