Titian’s «Three Ages of Man»anew interpretation

  1. Rafael Zafra Molina 1
  1. 1 Universidad de Navarra, GRISO
Journal:
Hipogrifo: Revista de Literatura y Cultura del Siglo de Oro

ISSN: 2328-1308

Year of publication: 2024

Volume: 12

Issue: 1

Pages: 753-781

Type: Article

DOI: 10.13035/H.2024.12.01.44 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openDialnet editor

More publications in: Hipogrifo: Revista de Literatura y Cultura del Siglo de Oro

Abstract

This article proposes an interpretation of Titian's The Three Ages of Man, based on a medal by Giovanni Boldù. Since thepaintingwas commissioned by the goldsmith Emiliano Targone, I claim that it was conceived as a gift for the wedding of his daughter Polissena to Giovanni Bernardi, who belonged in the same trade and therefore he must have been able to interpret the picture. Titian would have worked on the canvas between 1516 and 1524, and he produced an exceptionally beautiful epithalamic painting that, besides conforming to genre conventions, conveys a profound moral message that can be deduced from the medal

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