On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P00432
- Author
- Titian [Vecellio di Gregorio Tiziano] (Italian)
- Title
- Glory
- Chronology
- 1551-1554
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 346 cm x 240 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCIONREAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
The Holy Trinity (The Father, The
Son and the Holy Ghost) presides
over the composition. The Virgin
Mary and Saint John the Baptist
appear on the left, and further
down are characters from the Old
Testament, each identifiable by his
attributes. The female figure with
her back to the viewer has been
identified as the Eritrean Sibyll
or as Mary Magdalene. On the right,
angels accompany members of the
Imperial family wearing shrouds and
expressions of supplication. They
are led by Carlos V (1500-1558).
The two old men at the bottom have
been identified as Titian and
Aretino.
There have been different
interpretations of this painting
that was conceived as a visual
rendering of the Hapsburg's
Trinitarian orthodoxy. The work
acquired a devotional nuance when
Carlos V asked to see it before
dying. It is based on a passage by
Saint Augustine in which he
narrates a heavenly vision of the
blessed. The composition is said to
draw on Albrecht Dürer and Lorenzo
Lotto.
Signed on a paper being held by
Saint John the Evangelist, this
painting hung in the Aula de Moral
at El Escorial until it entered the
Prado Museum in 1837.
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