Italian Renaissance · 1490–1576 · Italian

Titian

Titian built his colors in many layers of glaze over a colored ground, the Venetian way of putting color before drawing. The copper-red hair of his sitters gave English the color name “Titian”.

Across 5 works, the colors are mostly brown (47%), black (27%) and gray (9%). On average the canvases are mid-toned, moderately saturated and warm. Signature colors, used far more here than across the collection: very dark umber, very dark rich sienna, pale gold, warm black and soot.

Color print

The swatches covering most of these canvases, averaged over every work, dark to light.

• MG 223 soot 9.4% of canvas
• MG 219 bistre 8.4% of canvas
• MG 221 blue black 5.8% of canvas
• MG 220 warm black 5.7% of canvas
• MG 222 charcoal 5.5% of canvas
• MG 177 dark taupe 5.0% of canvas
• MG 036 pale gold 2.5% of canvas
• MG 176 taupe 2.5% of canvas
• MG 181 light sand 2.4% of canvas
• MG 182 golden umber 2.3% of canvas
• MG 180 pale sand 2.3% of canvas
• MG 203 pale muted golden cream 2.3% of canvas
• MG 186 dark umber 2.2% of canvas
• MG 224 black 2.2% of canvas
• MG 184 umber 2.2% of canvas
• MG 190 light golden sand 2.1% of canvas

Measurements

Lightness

0.45

Contrast

0.61

Vividness

0.037

Warmth

+0.88

Complexity

191 cells

Hue range

0.48

Focus

0.12

Works

• Sacred and Profane Love, c. 1514
• Assumption of the Virgin, c. 1517
• Venus of Urbino, 1538
• Equestrian Portrait of Charles V, 1548
• Sleeping Venus, 16th century