Titian's Venus of Urbino - Goffen

                Titian is among the first artists to be considered an international artist during his time. His work extended throughout Europe and influential works contributed to his success. The Venus of Urbino is in particular, significant. Titian painted many nude women, a contrast to the women (mostly clothed Madonna’s) and nude men that his contemporaries painted.  The Venus has often been considered pornographic and misogynistic. I believe it is neither.

She is placed into a bedroom, a setting not typical used during this time, propped up by pillows on a bed. The pose is striking because of her stare and revealed breasts. Her empowering stare beholds the viewer’s eye, perhaps in a sensual sense (pg 9; 13). However, her stare and reclining and exposed pose does not impose a sense of misogyny or pornography. It is a celebration of the female form. Michelangelo explored the male form countless because of his attachment to its beauty. His male forms appear throughout his paintings as bystanders but none of which are sexual or explicit.  Raphael and Leonardo expressed the feminine form through their portraits and the Madonna. I believe Titian was searching for his niche – to unveil the beauty of the female form and reveal it in a non-religious context.

Prostitution was practiced during this time and it is considered the model is a prostitute, but if not, in what ways does this painting deliver a sexual nature? Goffen* does not explore this question much besides referring to Titian’s painted subjects to have independence and personality (pg11) and injected eroticism. I suppose the mystery remains as it can only solved by the eye of the beholder. It is difficult to understand Titian’s true intentions behind this remarkable painting.

*I do like Goffen very much as an author and she suggests information without a bias.