National Gallery Technical Bulletin

National Gallery Technical Bulletin
Volume 36

    <URL:https://www.nationalgallery.co.uk/products/technical-bulletin-36/p_1040521>

UKP40

The National Gallery Technical Bulletin is a unique record of
research carried out at the National Gallery, London.  Drawing on
the combined expertise of curators, conservators, and scientists, it
brings together a wealth of information about artists' materials,
practices, and techniques.

This special edition of the National Gallery Technical Bulletin
focuses on Titian's technique after about 1540.  Following the
publication of Volume 34, in 2013, which was dedicated to his early
career, it completes a comprehensive and authoritative survey of
painting technique for one of the most influential and sought-after
artists of sixteenth-century Italy.

The joint acquisition, in 2012, by the National Gallery and the
National Galleries of Scotland of two magnificent paintings by
Titian--'Diana and Actaeon' and 'Diana and Callisto'--has enormously
enriched the holding in the UK of works from the second half of the
Venetian artist's career.  The pictures are part of a series of
famous mythological paintings produced for King Philip II of Spain,
when the artist was at the height of his powers.  The subjects were
based on the Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses, and Titian himself
referred to them as 'poesie' (poems).

Series Editor: Ashok Roy, former Director of Collections at the
National Gallery, London.

Jill Dunkerton is Restorer in the Conservation Department; Marika
Spring is Head of Research.  Both are based at the National Gallery,
London.

Lesley Stevenson is Senior Paintings Conservator, and Jacqueline
Ridge is Keeper of Conservation at National Galleries Scotland.

Contents

    Titian after 1540: Technique and Style in his Later Works.

        Jill Dunkerton and Marika Spring, with contributions from
        Rachel Billinge, Helen Howard, Gabriella Macaro, Rachel
        Morrison, David Peggie, Ashok Roy, Lesley Stevenson and
        Nelly Von Aderkas

        This essay addresses consistent factors in Titian's
        practice, of which there are many, as well as changes as he
        grew older.  These include the introduction of new materials
        such as smalt, a pigment that can unfortunately lose its
        original blue colour.  This alteration has had a
        considerable--and not until now sufficiently
        appreciated--effect on our perception of some of Titian's
        later works and is described in detail.  The essay also
        discusses the tendency for there to be variable levels of
        finish in Titian's completed paintings, sometimes even
        within a single work, and considers issues such as the
        development of his so-called 'late style' and whether it is
        possible to determine if a painting was completely finished,
        at least to the artist's apparent satisfaction.

     Catalogue

       Jill Dunkerton and Marika Spring, with contributions from
       Rachel Billinge, Helen Howard, Gabriella Macaro, Rachel
       Morrison, David Peggie, Ashok Roy, Lesley Stevenson and Nelly
       von Aderkas

       Among the eight catalogue entries are detailed studies of the
       two 'poesie', including descriptions and discussion of the
       significance of the numerous alterations and adjustments
       revealed by X-radiography and infrared reflectography, and by
       the study and analysis of a comprehensive set of paint
       cross-sections made at the National Galleries of Scotland.
       New information is also published on other important works in
       the National Gallery Collection such as 'The Vendramin
       Family', 'The Tribute Money' and 'The Death of Actaeon',
       another 'poesia', which was perhaps the painting begun by
       Titian in 1559 for Philip II, but was never delivered to
       Spain.

       The sub role of Titian's workshop is also addressed.  The
       pictures 'Venus and Adonis' is generally accepted as a
       product of that workshop, and is included among the catalogue
       entries for comparison with the seven other paintings, widely
       accepted as wholly or largely painted by Titian himself.

    The Conservation History of Titian's 'Diana and Actaeon' and
    'Diana and Callisto'

       Jacqueline Ridge and Marika Spring

The Bulletin ends with an essay that includes a summary of the
documented conservation history of the two recently acquired
paintings, including unpublished material held in the archives at
the National Galleries of Scotland.  This is particularly helpful to
our understanding of the present appearance of these great
paintings.

Every purchase support the National Gallery

Elizabeth Peckham
Marketing Assistant
National Gallery Company Ltd
St. Vincent House
30 Orange Street
London WC2H 7HH
+44 20 7747 5988
Fax: +44 20 7747 5951


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