Titian
Venetian, 1490–1576 ca.

Head of a Man, 1508–10 ca.
oil on canvas
21 1/4 x 17 1/4 in.

Glasgow Museums, Purchased by Glasgow Museums, 1971

COMMENTS

This painting once formed an integral part of one of the most important works in Glasgow’s collections, "Christ and the Adulteress" by Tiziano Vecellio, known as Titian. This male head was detached from the main part of the painting at an unknown date, perhaps because part of the canvas directly underneath it had been damaged in some way. The knee of the man whose head this is, wearing striped hose, can still be seen at the right-hand side of the larger part of the painting. This figure is the only one in the composition as a whole who looks away from the action taking place, and out towards the viewer, leading some to enquire if this could be a self-portrait of the artist. However, there is no independent evidence to justify this possibility. The ‘Head’ is now displayed alongside the larger part of the painting, in the approximate position it would originally have occupied.

This painting, like the larger portion of the work, is important as a rare example of Titian’s early work to be seen outside Italy. It was previously attributed to other Venetian artists, including Giorgione, but almost all experts now agree that it was painted by Titian. It is a key work in Titian scholarship, and much admired by visitors.

- Glasgow Museums Collections Navigator
http://collections.glasgowmuseums.com/starobject.html?oid=166850

The city of Venice was home to many talented painters, but none were more revered or successful than the great sixteenth-century painter Titian. His early training was in the workshop of Giovanni Bellini (ca. 1438–1516), but the paintings of another important Venetian painter, Giorgione (1477–1510), had the most profound impact on Titian’s art. His painting style is expressive and self-assured, and embodies the fundamental shift that occurred between fifteenth-century painting, which is characterized by fineness of finish and bright local color, and sixteenth-century painting, which is marked by a looser technique coupled with a more harmonious color palette.

Throughout his lifetime, Titian painted all genres, including portraits, religious paintings, and mythological subjects. Although he had many patrons within Venice, he also had a prominent international reputation, with many beyond his native country collecting his work, including King Philip II of Spain. As a result, Titian’s workshop was large and his influence was broad, ultimately touching the work of Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velázquez, Rembrandt van Rijn, and other Baroque masters.

- Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting from Glasgow Museums, Milwaukee Art Museum
http://mam.org/of-heaven-and-earth/biographies.php


SBMA CURATORIAL LABELS

This painting is a surviving fragment of Titian’s Christ and the Adulteress (on view nearby) before the canvas was cut down.

Titian would have been only 20 years old when he made these paintings. The influence of his master Giorgione can still be seen in the soft blurred edges, the dramatic threequarter view over his shoulder, and the romantic moodiness of his expression. Typical of Titian, even at this early age, are his trademark sketchy brushwork in the white lacy edge peeking out from under the jacket, and the way he paints light reflecting off the pink satin cap.

- Botticelli, Titian, and Beyond, 2015