On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P00420
- Author
- Titian [Vecellio di Gregorio Tiziano] (Italian)
- Title
- Venus with the Organist
- Chronology
- Ca. 1550
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 138 cm x 222,4 cm x 3,5 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
Accompanied by a dog and reclining
on a bed in front of a window
through which the gardens of a
villa are visible, Venus listens to
the music played by an
organist.
There are five known works by
Titian on the subject of Venus and
Music, and all follow the same
model, though the organist is
sometimes a lutenist and the dog is
sometimes Cupid (Prado Museum,
Staatliche Museum of Berlin,
Metropolitan Museum of New York and
Fitzwilliam Museum of
Cambridge).
These paintings have been
interpreted in a variety of
manners. Some historians see them
as simple erotic scenes, while
others consider them neo-platonic
allegories of the senses, in which
vision and hearing are instruments
for knowing beauty and
harmony.
This work, probably the first of
the series, belonged to the legal
expert, Francesco Assonica. It
differs from the others in the
individualization of both figures'
facial features, giving it the
appearance of a portrait. It was
later acquired by Charles I of
England. When the latter's
possessions were auctioned, it was
purchased by Luis Méndez de Haro
for the collection of Felipe IV
(1605-1665). It entered the Prado
Museum collection in 1827 and is
listed for the first time in Spain
in the 1626 inventory of Madrid's
Alcázar Palace.
