The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

Author(s): Józef Grabski

Source: Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 34, No. 67, Papers dedicated to Peter Humfrey: part I
(2013), pp. 285-310
Published by: IRSA s.c.
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 Jozef Grabski
Józef

The Contribution of Collaborators

in Titian's Late Works

In the past twenty years a lot of important, highly effective re

search has been done on the studio of Titian and his collabo
rators. A large number of high quality publications has brought
new knowledge of how the work in Titian's bottega was organ
ized in different decades, and who his collaborators were: the as
sistants, helpers, garzoni. These valuable archival investigations
have brought to light many new, unknown facts concerning the
life of Titian and his close collaborators. The studies done by Lio
nello Puppi, Augusto Gentili, Bernard Aikema, David Rosand1,
but also by the younger generation of incisive scholars, including
Giorgio Tagliaferro, Andrew John Martin and Matteo Mancini2,
to mention only a few of them, have given us better insight into
the studio of the master from Pieve di Cadore. In particular, the
research programme started at the Fondazione Centra Studi
Tiziano e Cadore with its seat in Titian's native city has offered
scholars the possibility to carry out many valuable studies. The
exhibitions, books and periodicals promoted and published by
the foundation in Pieve di Cadore, especially the journal Studi
tizianeschi3, have continuously brought out new, critical essays,
shedding new light on the process of creation, the marketing of
the works of art produced in the studio, and their commercializa
tion on the Italian and European art markets during Titian's life
time and after his death.

Particularly numerous in the past few years were publica

tions dedicated to the last two decades of the activity in Titian's

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 Józef Grabski

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1. Titian, «Pietà», c. 1575-1576, Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

. . - '

- Tisane

Jr M &

2. Titian, «Pietà» (detail of Fig. 1): putto holding a torch 3. Titian, «Pietà» (detail of Fig. 1): putto holding the scent jug of
Magdalene

studio. Some important exhibitions, especially in London (2003), I would like to focus here on a few late works produced in
Vienna (2007), Belluno and Pieve di Cadore (2007-2008), and the studio of Titian, started after 1560, already in the time after the
Venice (2008)4 have brought together works of the artist's final death of the artist's brother and collaborator Francesco Vecellio.
period, allowing a confrontation of three groups of paintings: There are two groups of Titian's late paintings in which his assist
1) those that are the product of his labour, 2) those executed in ants intervened: to the first belong the compositions executed
major part by the master himself, but with important contributions in Titian's studio during the last years of his life and done under
from his collaborators, as well as 3) those being copies and vari- his personal control; to the second - his paintings finished and
ants by his collaborators and assistants. 'enhanced' after his death.
However, even if we know today much more about the or- In the first group of special interest ar
ganization of Titian's studio than we knew twenty years ago, among others, the Portrait of Jacopo St
there are still key questions related to the contribution of the Tarquin and Lucretia, c. 1570-1571 (Cam
master's collaborators in his paintings, questions which require coured by Spain, 1570-1575 (Madrid) an
further investigation and answers. Fernando to Victory, 1575 (Madrid). To the second group, which

287

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 Józef Grabski

illtfe IS ;i§a

4. Titian, «Portrait of Jacopo Strada», 1566, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

will be taken here into consideration, belong such paintings as

The Flaying ofMarsyas, c. 1575 (Kromériz); Ecce Homo, c.1570
1576 (Saint Louis) and the Pietà, c. 1570-1576 (Venice).
A great effort has been made by many art historians to dis
tinguish in different works the hand of the artist himself from
those of his studio assistants. In many of these late works differ
ent artists' contributions have been observed. However, it is not u V
possible to determine exactly who the painter or painters was fertile. : - • :i
or were, nor who executed which parts. Surely they were not E •
H fe 1 UV,
entirely painted by Titian's own hand. We know the names of
the artists from Titian's closest entourage. It is, however, almost
impossible, to concretely determine who executed specific parts i ■Wr £•«,•»*>
of the canvases' surfaces. .

Among those in Titian's studio who made up his closest as

sistants and helpers were: his son Orazio (1522/25-1576), Vale
rio Zuccata, Damiano Mazza, Marco (1545-1611) and Cesare Ve
fw*'
He- • ; .
cellio (1521 -c. 1601), Girolamo Dente (1510 — c. 1565/70), Gio jf ; : ,:
• •
X& ' •- t
vanni Maria Verdizzotti (1537/40-1604/07), and two Germans,
Christoph Schwarz and Emanuel Amberger.
Only in a few cases can we tell with approximate certainty , " ■ '• , •*

who, besides Titian himself, put his hand to a specific painting. ■■''''' V.«
One exception to this, in which we know exactly who the painter
that finished the work was, is the Pietà [Fig. 1], today in the Gal
lerie dell'Accademia, which Titian wanted to place on his tomb in
the Frari church in Venice. Palma il Giovane justly confirmed his
later intervention on the painting with the inscription: 'What Titian » rj
left, Palma finished'.5 Palma came into possession of the paint
■HH9B9HHBHB

ing in unknown circumstances. It is possible that he took it as

... . . . I I . , ... ... 5. Titian, «Portrait of5.Jacopo Strada» of
Titian, «Portrait (detail
Jacopoof Fig. (detail
Strada» 4): of Fig. 4):
remuneration for previously unpaid workthe in Titian s studio. It is the càrt0UChe
cartouche
also possible that he had bought it from one of Titian's heirs, ei
ther his son Pomponio or Cornelio Sarcinelli. However, he didn't
complete the unfinished painting for commercial purposes, in pert and collector, writer
order to sell it, but rather more for ambition's sake. In putting this who did business in art
inscription on Titian's Pietà Palma il Giovane declared himself an his works. Jacopo St
artistic heir of Titian, hoping that part of Titian's glory would fall affairs as Titian was.
on him. Many stylistic, technological and archival studies have courts, the popes in Ro
helped to indicate Palma's contribution. We can distinguish Strada was a link between
some parts of the painting as surely not by Titian, for example late portrait by Titian
the putto holding the torch in the upper right-hand side of the ing important people, c
painting [Fig. 2], as well as the wings of the putto holding the elements and signifyin
scent jug of Magdalene in the lower left-hand corner [Fig. 3]. ed here wearing a gold c
various pieces of sculpture, books and a pome
architectonic shelf, coins, a letter on the table a
The Contribution of Emanuel Amberger Titian's handwriting to the arti
in the Portrait Of Jacopo strada complete the painting. The composi
many symbolic objects pays tribute to the No
It seems that in the Portrait of Jacopo Strada [Fig. 4], today in cially German tradition
Vienna, we can observe a specific contribution of an assistant. In The scrollwork carto
1566 Titian was almost eighty years old, and already then a great the composition serve
deal of the pictorial work in his atelier was done by his assistants all'antica lettering, wh
under his supervision. The picture portrays the Flemish art ex- sculptured form of t

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 Józef Grabski

ornaments, masks and small garlands seems to be artificially Ferino-Pagden has observed.9 Particularly characteristic is the
placed on the wall, or rather pillar, and doesn't really fit into the precise execution of the brownish waistcoat of Tarquin, covered
painting's space. It looks like an alien element added later, with- with lace like a golden net.
out any relation to the inner architecture. It partly sticks out over In the Cambridge version the dark green curtain with the
the edge of the pillar in an atectonic, illogical way. This almost graphic pattern is also executed with many golden points on the
Baroque shape is painted in a completely different manner, with fabric. The precision of the execution indicates another hand, not
small touches of the brush and fine precise strokes of golden that of Titian himself. The assistant who painted these parts did
colour on the brownish frame. This manner of precise painting so in a more artisanal way, with great patience, which he would
is in contrast to the style of painting in the rest of the portrait, have needed in order to draw this meticulous pattern with its hun
executed in Titian's late style. This secondary element seems dreds of small points of colour [Fig. 8]. Titian's collaborator who
to have been painted by a different hand than did the rest of the painted this part of the composition, as well as the golden lace
painting. pattern on Tarquin's clothes [Fig. 9], did it very precisely, with
Almost at the same time when this portrait was being paint- a sure hand, certainly not
ed, Nicolo Stoppio, the rival in affairs of Jacopo Strada and an- suggest Emanuel Amberg
other agent of Titian in his art sales, wrote on 29 February 1568 background as the contrib
about Titian to Hans Jacob Fugger in Augsburg: servant to the left on the Cambr
another assistant was probably at work here. Th
[...] et ogniuno dice che non vede più quello qu el fa, et li trema the servant holding the curta
tanto la mano che stenta a ridurre cosa alcuna a perfettione, et lo place.
fatare alli suoi giovani, ha un Todescho in casa, Emanuel [...] che Titian's assistants cont
e eccellente et li fa molte cose che con due botte di penello che Sion. Despite the bad resto
lui vi fa poi, le vende per sue [...].7 1870 fire in the Hôtel de Ville of
was damaged10, we can distinguish with certaint
I wonder whether the painter who completed the cartouche three different artists' hand
in such a way that we feel it is a clumsy addition which does storer). The rather clumsily d
not fit well into the picture's space could be Emanuel Amberg- tain in the background, th
er, educated in his father's studio in Germany.8 He would have Tarquin, the white linen cro
brought a German knowledge of precise drawing, the skill of as some parts of her body an
how to exactly determine the outlines of the objects he painted. in the manner of Titian, p
Similar insertions, meticulously drawn objects foreign to Titian's [Fig. 11] and precisely p
late style, can be found in several of Titian's late compositions. represent the same meticu
Cambridge painting and might be the work of Em
er. However, there are some touches of brush char
Three Versions Of Tarquin and Lucretia Titian himself: the white sleeves of
white collar, which looks like the master's pittura
Comparing the three versions of Tarquin and Lucretia, we can other late works of Titian.
assume that the Vienna version [Fig. 6] is the one that is com- Titian, over eighty years o
pletely of the master's hand, even if the painting is not finished wanted to fulfil his promi
and executed intentionally with large brush touches, such that it ber 1568: 'Le prometto ch'
was criticized by Titian's contemporaries as non finito. Both oth- one di pittura di molto mag
er versions of this composition bear traces of contributions from And in fact he did it. '
assistants. In both the Cambridge [Fig. 7] and Bordeaux [Fig. 10] habbia ricevuta la pittura d
versions we can observe a great contrast in stylistic execution, was his message of 1 Augu
resulting in two very different ways of painting. Especially in the kept his promise, but surely
Cambridge version the body of Lucretia, the bed fabric and the probably mostly thanks t
big, white pillows are treated with large brush strokes, while the Emanuel Amberger. Titian
red trousers are heightened with energetic, pink lines. The boots spondence to the Spanis
of Tarquin, as well as the white, rolled-up sleeves of Tarquin's as his best assistants and fu
shirt, are painted smoothly but with dynamic strokes, and the works in his - Titian's - st
white collar contrasts with the fine, linear and meticulous execu- the three Lucretia version
tion of the jewels on Lucretia's hand, neck and ear, as Sylvia of Titian functioned in the last

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

- .A

6. Titian, «Tarquin and Lucretia», c. 1570-1575, Vienna, Akademie der bildenden Kunste

291

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 Józef Grabski

7
7. Titian, «Tarquin and Lucretia», c. 1570-1571, Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum

292

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

8. Titian, «Tarquin and Lucretia»

(detail of Fig. 7): graphic
pattern painted with golden
points on a fabric

9. Titian, «Tarquin and Lucretia»

(detail of Fig. 7): golden lace
pattern on Tarquin's clothes

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 Józef Grabski

10. Titian (and assistants), «Tarquin and Lucretia», c. 1568-1571, Bordeaux, Museé des Beaux-Arts

294

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

is a fundamental difference between some very painstakingly ex

ecuted objects and the parts painted with large strokes, like the
background with its cloudy sky, the ocean with its reflected light,
the dark brown tree trunk painted with energetic brush strokes of
yellow mixed with orange, not to mention the leaves on the tree,
painted with macchie, which are trembling in the air, as well as
the general shapes of the three main allegorical female figures.
First of all, the coat of arms of Philip II on the shield held by the al
legory of Spain is meticulously painted in graphic detail [Fig. 13],
as are the jewels of both female figures at the left [Fig. 14], not
to mention the panoply with its military reference [Fig. 15]. The
head of Medusa on the rich armour is drawn very precisely in
an almost identical way to the Mannerist cartouche frame of the
inscription in the Portrait of Jacopo Strada from Vienna. The same
assistant's hand is also responsible for a very decorative bunch
V. of feathers at the top of the helmet placed centrally in the paint
ing. The steel helmet itself, painted in large strokes of white and
pink, represents the best of Titian's effects of light and reflecting
space from all around. The way the feathers are executed, how
ever, is very different, with very linear, parallel, graphically painted
yellow lines on the red and orange ground, much in the Northern
tradition going back to Durer, Christoph Amberger and Anthonis
Mor, as can be seen in the graphically rendered feathers of the
helmet in the latter's Portrait of Maximilian of Austria (1550), today
11.
11.Titian
Titian
(and assistants),
(and assistants),
«Tarquin and«Tarquin
Lucretia» (detail
andofLucretia»
Fig. 10): (detail of Fig. 10):
the waistcoat
in Madrid, Museo del Prado.
We can also compare and confirm how differently these
feathers are painted in very similar helmet feathers, which Titian
painted on the emperor's helmet in the Portrait of Charles V at
Muhlberg of 1548. I track down in all of these precisely painted
The Share of Emanuel Amberger and Orazio details in the allegory of Religion the hand of Emanuel Amberg
in the Religion Succoured by Spain er. We know that his father, Christoph Amberger, was asked to
restore a damaged portrait by Titian of Charles V in 1548, but he
The allegory of Religion Succoured by Spain (1570-1575) was also executed a copy of the fragment representing the half
sent to Philip II in September 1575 [Fig. 12], The composition is of the emperor in armour and the same helmet with red
signed 'TITIANVS' on the stone behind the personification of Re- The young Emanuel, who worked in his father's studi
ligion. Titian's signature on the painting means that the artist con- also have copied the Portrait of Charles V with Helmet by T
firmed the authenticity and accomplishment of the work, putting The graphical elements of the helmet's red feathers are
the mark of his studio on it. However, the allegory is another good in an identical way to the allegory of Religion from Madrid
example of a collaborative work and the obvious contributions of In the Madrid version of this allegorical painting the
the artist's assistants to the painting. The idea for this composi- new element which can be seen neither in the Doria Pam
tion was first invented over forty years before the Madrid version sion [Fig. 16], nor on the engraving of Giulio Fontana after
was sent to Philip II. It was intended as a mythological painting of composition [Fig. 17], Strangely enough, amongst all of
Minerva and Neptune, conceived by Titian in the 1530s for Alfon- male figures appearing in this final version of this allego
so I d'Este.12 The painting was left unfinished due to the duke's is only one male figure. Or rather it is only the man's fac
death. One version of the composition evolved from a mythologi- appears at the left edge of the painting, just behind the swor
cal into a religious allegory later entitled Religion, and was sent in by the personification of Justice [Fig. 14], This man star
1568 to Emperor Maximilian II with an offer of acquisition.13 viewer intensively, his face bearing all the characteristics o
The problem of the various versions was presented in a per- portrait. This ugly face with its crooked, perhaps broken
suasive way by Miguel Falomir.14 In the context of the present looks at us as if it were looking in the mirror. Possibly it
paper it is more interesting to analyze the presence of other art- portrait of that 'Todescho [...] Emanuel [. ..] che e eccellen
ists' hands, besides that of Titian, in the Madrid painting. There molte cose'16, in other words, a self-portrait of Emanuel A

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 Józef Grabski

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12. Titian, «Religion Succoured by Spain», 1570-1575, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

14. Titian, «Religion Succoured by Spain» (detail of Fig. 12):

the jewels of female figures on the left

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13. Titian, «Religion Succoured by Spain» (detail of Fig. 12): 15. Titian, «Religion Succoured by Spain» (detail of Fig. 12):
the coat of arms of Philip II on the shield the panoply and its military reference

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 Józef Grabski

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16. Titian (and workshop), «Religion Succoured by Spain», Rome, Galleria Doria Pamphilj

298

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

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17. Giulio Fontana (after Titian), «Religion Succou

Museo Biblioteca Archivio

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 Józef Grabski

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18. Titian, «Philip II Offering Don Fernando to Victory», 1575, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

A Collective Studio Work for the King of Spain

Together with the allegory of Religion Succoured by Spain, Titian

sent another painting to Philip II, referring to the king as Defen
sor Ecclesiae, representing Philip II Offering Don Fernando to
Victory, 1575 (Madrid) [Fig. 18]. This huge painting was obvi
ously executed in its different parts with considerable participa
tion of the assistants of the already old and weak master, surely
>•?**»
iff 1% ■ : .. \ '*i
incapable of executing such large canvases as this one and that
of the Allegory of Religion on his own. When comparing the col
umns to the right in Philip II Offering Don Fernando to Victory iL- ^ "-■ , ■'■ r
with the columns of Pala Pesaro in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

•
in Venice there is not the slightest doubt that they were painted f '' , :v '*«£•'' ir ' '• 1
(or perhaps more accurately: covered with colour) by the assis V. < - r -
tants. Also, the figure of the defeated Turk, as well as the legs of
the king dressed in red tights and yellow boots were executed
^'!frn~rrr' r jrof;
by the collaborators, and then, later re-painted by a Spanish
painter in the seventeenth century.17
I would like to draw attention to another element, to the cen
trally placed table functioning as an offering altar. It is covered
with a red fabric ornamented with a golden, lacelike decoration
[Fig. 19], Flowever, the golden decorative application is em
ployed in an artificial way on the red fabric, not fitting with the ar
rangement of the pleats of the tablecloth. The yellow lines on the
19.Tìtian>
clear parts of the fabric are of almost the same intensity as the 19, Titian,«Philip
«Philip
II II Offering
Offering Don
Don Fernando
Fernando to Victory»
to Victory» (detail
(detail of of
. I , 11. I I . ,, . I . .. . Fig. 18): golden application Fig. 18): golden
on application
the red on the red fabric
fabric
dark parts of the pleats in the shadow where one would expect 3 ' 3
them to be much darker. The clumsy way of painting this golden
application is in obvious contrast to the masterly painted armour
of the king and the explosive vision of the battle of Lepanto in had occurred in Titian's house. According to this document, u
the background. Here we are surely dealing with the work of an known thieves broke into the sealed house and many valu
assistant, probably the same one who finished some elements objects were stolen. However, we cannot be certain that it was
in the allegory of the Religion Succoured by Spain. not a document agreed upon between Pomponio and Cornelio
for formal reasons, in order to cover up their informally having
taken possession of the equipment and objects in the house
Titian's Heritage of Biri Grande belonging to the inheritance after Titian. Thanks
to this denunciation we have evidence: a general inventory
Our knowledge about the situation at the moment of Titian's a description - unfortunately not very speci
death is obscured due to lacking archival evidence or other tes- len. These include objects of value collected b
timonies. During the great plague of 1576, which took the lives served as models for his paintings, such as j
of thousands of people staying then in Venice, in such a stress- pearls and silver and gold chains. The sam
fui situation the city authorities weren't able to follow and docu- different paintings, valuables which surel
ment all of the events that would normally have been registered. collection, which he liked and appreciated,
We don't know what happened exactly after Titian's death in his jewels, but also as a personal memory of th
house in Biri Grande, nor do we know exactly what happened and painted. Some of the jewels probably be
to Titian's heritage. We know that after his death and the death wife Cecilia. Titian painted the same valuab
of Orazio, both deaths occurring within a short span of time one ings over several decades. Exactly the same
after another, the house and studio of the artist were closed and various paintings representing Venus [Fig.
sealed by the health office. Lucretia [Fig. 22], Bella and Woman in White. Even these valu
Strangely enough, it was only more than a year after Titian's ables were probably mentioned in
death that his elder son Pomponio and the other heir, Cornelio the robbery. However, besides the thi
Sarcinelli, reported to the authorities of Venice that a robbery any), also Titian's son Pomponio had easy access to the house

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 Józef Grabski

MM
<5

20.Titian, «Venus», c. 1550, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado 21. Titian, «Danae», 1560-1565, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches
(detail): the jewels Museum (detail): the jewels

at Biri Grande. As a priest he could have received permission to position, looking from time to time at the unfinished painting
enter the sealed house of his father even during the pest, which, correcting what he found to be wrong, touching something u
in fact, he did. or correcting parts of a painting's surface, and then putting the
His relationship with his father was, in the last years of Tit- painting away for weeks or mon
ian's life, as bad as could be. They hadn't seen each other in to mature and dry.
years, but at the news of his father's death Pomponio came We don't know what exactly
immediately to Venice, neither fearful of nor caring about the ings left in the atelier after T
plague which was decimating the residents of the Serenissima considered himself the only heir a
in the summer of 1576. He evidently came to take possession of his younger brother Orazio. H
what was left in Venice. We can imagine that he could easily have Charles Hope19 have pointed o
taken all the valuable objects, as well as some paintings, from at the very least the daughter E
the sealed house. At his death Titian left many finished as well as well as the five children of Lav
unfinished paintings in his atelier. Surely some of them were ver- husband Cornelio Sarcinelli st
sions of compositions which were very popular and could eas- over Titian's inheritance. It seem
ily be sold for a handsome profit. Some of them, however, had took control of the paintings lef
certainly not been finished. We know Titian's method of painting: Grande. However, we can ima
sometimes he worked for months or even years on one com- cess to them - Pomponio and Cor

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

the appreciation of Titian's late style is also known from Vasari20,

as well as from the correspondence of the Spanish governor in
Milan, Antonio de Guzman y Zuniga, with the imperial ambas
sador to Venice, Diego Guzman de Silva.21 In terms of the art
market, these late paintings, which looked like unfinished works,
were of lower commercial value than the former, 'finished' paint
ings. So, in order to make a better profit, these works needed
corrections; perhaps not all, but surely some of them.
It could have been Pomponio and Cornelio Sarcinelli who
ordered the completion and correction of the remaining paint
ings. However, there were other people close to the deceased
Titian's atelier who would have been able to finish the unfinished
works in Titian's manner: his collaborators. After Titian's death
the prices for this artist's paintings were still very high, and the
paintings done in the manner of, or by, his followers, were ap
preciated and there was a market for them.
We have scarce knowledge about the destiny of some of the
late, unfinished paintings by Titian which remained unfinished
at the time of his passing away. We have neither an indication
as to what happened to them, nor who completed them. Not all
of the artists who received an opportunity to complete and cor
MP rect unfinished works by Titian were as fair and conscientious
as Palma il Giovane was with the Pietà. We can assume that
some of Titian's former collaborators completed the unfinished
works left in the studio at the order of Pomponio or some other
business-oriented agents. Their goal would have been to sell
these embellished paintings finished by the followers as genuine
works made by Titian's hand. We can imagine that such persons
would not have been interested in certifying or testifying the later
pictorial contribution of other painters than Titian, in view of mak
22.Titian,
22. Titian,«Lucretia» (detail of (detail
«Lucretia» Fig. 7): the
ofjewels
Fig. 7): the jewels
ing the works more attractive for potential buyers. As a work of
the workshop or followers the commercial value of the paintings
would have been much lower.

of Titian's late daughter Lavinia - could easily have taken them

and then disposed of them by way of sale or let them be finished The Late invenzione by Titian:
by a trustworthy painter, one who could guarantee the work in Christ Mocked
the style of the master. Orazio, designated by Titian as an heir
and a leader of the studio who would have been able to continue The Ecce Homo version in Saint Louis (c. 1570-1576) [Fig. 23]
the activities of the Vecellio family in case of the artist's death, is one of the best of a large quantity of paintings of this sub
died in Lazzaretto Vecchio during the same pest in the summer issued from Titian's studio. Most of them are works of Titian's
of 1576. However, other pupils and Titian's assistants were still sistants.22 A lot of copies, replicas and versions were produc
alive and quite active in the next two or three decades: Marco in the atelier in Biri Grande due to the great interest for this co
and Cesare Vecellio, Christoph Schwarz and Emanuel Amberg- position. I would like to add some observations to the brilliant
er, Palma il Giovane. They all would have been able to complete article by Miguel Falomir on different versions of Christ Mock
the unfinished works, correcting them according to the taste of this late invenzione by Titian.23 It had already been observed t
the potential purchaser in the master's style. The late style of despite the unfinished character of the Saint Louis version th
Titian, pittura di macchie, was mostly regarded with some hesi- are areas which 'are very polished, such as the jewel on Pon
tation and doubts. It was sometimes openly criticized and gener- Pilate's cap [Fig. 24] or the fine brocade of his dress' [Fig. 25]
ally wasn't pleasing to art collectors, even to the artist's friends This contrasts enormously with the master's non finito of som
and admirers like Pietro Aretino. An echo of the polemics about freely painted parts, large in size, like the upper left-hand side

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 Józef Grabski

23. Titian, «Ecce Homo», c. 1570-1576, Saint Louis, The Saint Louis Art Museum

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

p^-wrrip'"!!
^.
r^TrriiiiJ * • §
m \ 1 ? 11
. * * ^

24. Titian, «Ecce Homo» (detail of Fig. 23): 25. Titian, «Ecce Homo» (detail of Fig. 23): the fine brocade of
the jewel on Pontius Pilate's cap Pontius Pilate's dress

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 Józef Grabski

the painting with the torch enlightening the night scene, and the 1576, and how it arrived into the collection of Thomas Howa
robe around the semi-nude torso of Christ. Here again the me- count of Arundel, in 1620, the later history of the painting, af
ticulously painted pattern on the brocade robe of Pontius Pilate, the count's death, is well-documented.26 It is generally accepte
as well as the jewel on his cap, could be the work of Emanuel that the painting remained unfinished in the studio of the artist an
Amberger, given its execution with typical German precision. was completed after his death. The signature, visible on the ston
at the bottom of the painting, between the two dogs, was also
probably added later. It is very probable that the completion of the
Artistic Challenge: painting was also ordered by the son of the late artist, Pomponio.
Competition and Execution We know about the payments Pomponio made to Marco
Vecellio and to Emanuel Amberger. As regards the first, C
Many enlightened ideas have been written about The Flaying of nelio Sarcinelli declared having paid a certain
Marsyas (c. 1575-1576, Kromériz) [Fig. 26], This late work by Ti- to Marco on behalf of Pomponio.27 As for Em
tian poses many open questions which several prominent and Pomponio made payments to him several times. On 26 July
important scholars have tried to answer, including, among others, 1580 Emanuel Amberger and Pomponio agreed to the pay of
Philipp Fehl, Augusto Gentili, Lubomir Konecny, Miguel Falomir 150 ducati to the former collaborator of Titian.28
and Sylvia Ferino-Pagden.25 Whereas it will probably remain a se- Cristoforo Barbarigo lent money to Pomponio, having also
cret what happened with the painting after the master's death in paid some instalments to Amberger on behalf of Pomponio at
the beginning of 1581, as Cornelio Sarci
nelli had done for him before.29 On 27 Oc
tober 1581 Pomponio sold the house in
Biri Grande to Cristoforo Barbarigo prob
ably with some of Titian's paintings inside.
Part of the Barbarigo collection including
Titian's paintings were passed on to the
Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.
The payments by Pomponio to the German
collaborator prove that Emanuel Amberger
was still active in Venice, even many years
after Titian's death. He probably painted in
the master's style, as Marco Vecellio and
Cesare Vecellio continued to do as well. It

is not known what the payments were for

exactly, but it is very probable that among
the works Emanuel Amberger was finish
ing for Pomponio was also The Flaying of
Marsyas30, which Pomponio sold later to
some unknown client.
Amberger's hand in The Flaying of
Marsyas can be distinguished by the fin
ished, very polished parts, such as the
diadem of Midas and the laurel crown of

Apollo [Figs 27-28].

Philipp R Fehl, in his erudite paper on
The Punishment of Marsyas asks: 'What was
Titian's purpose in painting the story of so
grievous a punishment?'.31

26.
26. Titian,
Titian,«The
«TheFlaying
Flayingof of
Marsyas»,
Marsyas»,
c. 1575,
c. 1575,
Kromëfiz,
Kromériz, The Archbishop's Palace

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

27. Titian, «The Flaying of Marsyas»

(detail of Fig. 26):
the diadem of Midas

28.Titian, «The Flaying of Marsyas»

(detail of Fig. 26):
the laurel crown of Apollo

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 Józef Grabski

29. Titian, «The Allegory of Prudence», c. 1565 (detail): the faces of Titian, Orazio and Marco Vecellio, London, National Gallery

In the painting, Titian represented himself in disguise of Mi- Perhaps we are dealing here with an allegory of competi
das, sitting pensively, as a just judge. The crown here identifies tion in the fine arts, referring to some actual situation, where t
him as a king, ruler and leader. He also wears here exactly the meditating Titian observes the work of his two collaborators wi
same purple-red mantle as St Jerome in the Pietà. In many of his working instruments, here the knives standing in for brush
former works Titian introduced portraits of himself, his friends, getting revenge: his son Orazio in the Phrygian cap and t
family members and other real persons disguised sometimes as young Marco in the laurel crown, both headdresses meaning
mythological, biblical or sometimes as allegorical figures. Titian's successful succession.

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 The Contribution of Collaborators in Titian's Late Works

The similarity of these three faces to the faces on the Alle

gory of Prudence from the National Gallery in London [Fig. 29]
is quite obvious.
The young face of the martyred satyr with the semi-hyp
notic look, as Sylvia Ferino-Pagden called it32, seems to have
the characteristics of a portrait for it is not a generalized physi
ognomy, but an actual portrait, even if it has a horrible aspect
[Fig. 30]. To the right the satyr with a very ugly face and crook
ed nose brings a bucket, probably with fresh water from the
river. His function is that of a helper, an assistant to the deed. Is
it a portrait of some other collaborator? The small dog is drink
ing Marsyas' blood, becoming a reversed symbol of fidelity be
trayed. Marsyas' behaviour, his pride, or rather his conceit, was
considered a betrayal by the god Apollo. Is there a reference
here to some concrete events in Titian's life, or is it a pure al
legory? A river with flashes and reflections of white and yellow
light flows horizontally in the middle of the painting, visible be
tween the torso of Marsyas and the hand with the bucket to the
right, and over the shoulders of Apollo to the left. It gives to the
painting space and profundity, rarely observed and considered
by scholars in various descriptions and interpretations of the
work. Has Titian depicted in one of his last works himself and
his collaborators?

However, this is not the place to present a possible icono

graphie reading of this artistically and semantically meaningful
composition. My purpose here was to propose some observa
tions concerning the pictorial, material contributions of30.Titian,
Titian s 30.Titian, «The
«The Flaying of Flaying of(detail
Marsyas» Marsyas» (detail
of Fig. of Fig.
26): the face 26)
collaborators during his last years of life, as well as after his death.
of the of thesatyr
martyred martyred satyr

1 L. Puppi, Su Tiziano (Per Tiziano), Milan, 2004; A. Gentili, Da Tiziano a exh.

Tizi cat. London, National Gallery, London, 2003; Der spate Tizian und
ano, Milan, 1980; idem, 'Tiziano e il non finito', Venezia Cinquecento, voi.
die Sinntichkeit der Malerei (Late Titian and the Sensuality of Painting),
Il, 4, 1992, pp. 93-127; idem, 'Ancora sul non finito del Tiziano, materiale
ed. by S. Ferino-Pagden, exh. cat. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum,
e linguaggio', in Tiziano, Tecnicasy restauraciones, Madrid, 1999, pp. 171— Vienna, 2007; Tiziano. L'ultimo atto, ed. by L. Puppi, exh. cat. Belluno,
180; B. Aikema, 'Tiziano, la maniera e il pubblico', Minerva triumphans. Palazzo Crepadona, Pieve di Cadore, Palazzo della Magnifica Comunità,
Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Fiorenz, 39, 1995, 1, pp. Milan, 2007; L'ultimo Tiziano e la sensualità della pittura, ed. by S. Ferino
167-184; D. Rosand, 'Titian and the Eloquence of the Brush', ArtibusPagden, et exh. cat. Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice, 2008.
Historiae, no. 3, 1981, pp. 85-96; idem, Tiziano, Milan, 1983; idem, 'Titian
5 The inscription on the stone base reads: QUOD TITIANVS ICHOATVM
and Pictorial Space', in Titian. Prince of Painters, exh. cat., Venice, 1990.
RELIQVIT I PALMA REVERENTER ABSOLVIT | DEOQ. DICAVIT OPVS.
2 G. Tagliaferro, 'La bottega di Tiziano: un percorso critico', Studi tiziane
6 Titian could have seen the paintings by such artists as: A. Diirer, G. Pencz,
schi, IV, 2006, pp. 16-52; G. Tagliaferro, B. Aikema, M. Mancini, J. Mar
tin, Le botteghe di Tiziano, Florence, 2010. L. Cranach, H. Holbein in Venice, or during his travels to Germany.

3 Especially the issues: III, 2005; IV, 2006; V, 2007. 7 Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Munich, Kurbayern, ÂuBeres Archiv,
b. 4852, cc. 146'-146v; Puppi, Su Tiziano, pp. 29, 129; G. Tagliaferro,
4 The exhibition catalogues of the past decade contributed substantially 'Il to
clan Vecellio: l'attività estrema della bottega e l'eredità artistica del
the research on the studio of Titian: Titian, ed. by Ch. Hope and D. Jaffé,
maestro', in Le botteghe di Tiziano, Florence, 2009, p. 285.

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 Józef Grabski

8 A. Kranz, Christoph Amberger: Bildnismalerzu Augsburg: stàdtische Eliten 20 G. Vasari, Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architettori (1568),
im Spiegel ihrer Portrats, Regensburg, 2004, p. 453. ed. G. Milanesi (Florence, 1878-1885), 2nd ed., with additions and cor
rections, 9 vols, Florence, 1906, vol. VII, p. 452.
9 S. Ferino-Pagden, 'Tarquinio e Lucrezia', in L'ultimo Tiziano, pp. 218, 220.

10 J. Habert, 'Tarquin and Lucretia' (cat. entry for the Bordeaux version), in 21 F. Checa, 'Lo stile maturo di Tiziano', in L'ultimo Tiziano, p. 65; L. Fer
L'ultimo Tiziano, p. 221. rarino, Tiziano e la corte di Spagna nei documenti dell'Archivio Generale
di Simancas, Madrid, 1975, pp. 120-125.
11 H. Voltellini, 'Rechnungsauszùge, Urkunden und Urkundenregesten
aus dem Augsburger Stadtsarchive', Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen 22 M. Romberg, 'Ecce Homo', in L'ultimo Tiziano, pp. 295-296.
Sammlungen des allerhôchsten Kaiserhauses in Wien, XIII, 1892, 2, pp.
26-174. 23 M. Falomir, 'Christ Mocked, a late 'invenzione' by Titian', Artibus et His
toriae, no. 55, 2007, p. 59.
12 Tiziano, ed. by M. Falomir, exh. cat. Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado,
Madrid, 2003, pp. 77-91. 24 Romberg, 'Ecce Homo'; Falomir, 'Christ Mocked', pp. 53-61.

13 Voltelini, 'Rechnungsauszùge; G. Tagliaferro, 'La religione soccorsa 25 dalla

A. Gentili, Da Tiziano, pp. 147-158; L. Konecny, 'Flaying of Marsyas',
Spagna', in: L'ultimo Tiziano, pp. 288-291. in Catalogue of the Painting Collection in the Archbishop's Palace in
Kromëhz, Kromèfiz, 1999, pp. 339-350; Falomir, in Tiziano (exh. cat.,
14 M. Falomir, 'Titian's Replicas and Variants', in Titian (exh. cat., London,
2003), pp. 60-68. Madrid, 2003), pp. 292-295; S. Ferino-Pagden, 'Supplizio di Marsia', in
L'ultimo Tiziano, pp. 232-235.
15 The Portrait of Charles V in Armour, c. 1550, oil on canvas, Ambras Cas
tle, Austria. 26 Ferino-Pagden, 'Supplizio di Marsia', p. 235.

16 H. Zimmermann, 'Zur richtigen Datierung eines Portraits von Tizian in 'La famiglia di Tiziano', p. 37.
27 Hope,
der Wiener kaiserlichen Gemâlde-Gallerie', Mittheilungen des Instituts
28 Ibidem,
fur Oesterreichische Geschichtsforschung, VI, 1901, p. 850; Puppi, Su pp. 37-38.
Tiziano, pp. 29, 129, n. 69; Kranz, Christoph Amberger, p. 453, doc. 9;
29 Ibidem, p. 38.
Tagliaferro, in Le botteghe..., p. 285.

17 Falomir, in Titian (exh. cat., London, 2003), pp. 290-291.

30 Ibidem, p. 37.

18 Puppi, Su Tiziano, pp. 41-44. 31 PR Fehl, Decorum and Wit: Poetry of Venetian Painting, Vienna, 1992,
p. 147.
19 Ch. Hope, 'La famiglia di Tiziano e la dispersione del suo patrimonio', in
L'ultimo Tiziano, pp. 29-30. 32 Ferino-Pagden, 'Supplizio di Marsia', p. 232.

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