The ''Gozzi Altarpiece'' is an

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest ...

by the Italian Renaissance master

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, n ...

, dating from 1520. It is located in the Pinacoteca civica Francesco Podesti in

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

, central Italy.

History

The painting is the first dated work by Titian. It was commissioned by Alvise Gozzi, a merchant from

Ragusa Ragusa is the historical name of Dubrovnik. It may also refer to: Places Croatia * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Cavtat (historically ' in Italian), a town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Cro ...

(modern Dubrovnik) who was active in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, for the church of San Francesco. The presence of a view of Venice in the background had a political message: in 1510

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...

had given freedom of navigation and commerce to Ancona at the expense of Venice, but in 1520 the European situation had cancelled this privilege. The presence of the Saints Francis and Blaise, respectively symbolizing Ancona and Ragusa, was thus a hint to their submission of Venice, represented by the Virgin Mary.

Description

The painting depicts the Madonna and Child appearing on a cloud, above a sunset sky with golden, orange and red colors. They are flanked by a clothed cherub and two naked cherubs, who offer Mary laurel crowns. Below are the saints

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christiani ...

, who shows his stigmata, and Blaise, patron saint of Ragusa, who points at the heavenly tableau while he rests a hand on the shoulder of the kneeling donor. The composition was perhaps inspired by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

's ''

Madonna of Foligno The ''Madonna of Foligno'' is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance painter Raphael, executed . First painted on wood panel, it was later transferred to canvas. History The painting was executed for Sigismondo de' Conti, chamberlain to Po ...

'', although developed according to Titan's more modern and lively style.

Notes

References

* {{Titian 1520 paintings Religious paintings by Titian Paintings of the Madonna and Child Paintings of Francis of Assisi Altarpieces Paintings in Ancona