Portrait of Fabrizio Salvaresio 1558

Curator: Standing before us is Titian’s “Portrait of Fabrizio Salvaresio,” completed around 1558. The artwork currently resides in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Editor: The gaze is direct, powerful, yet there is also something incredibly soft in the way Titian renders him, like looking into a stormy sea right as the sun peeks out. Curator: Titian, a master of the Venetian Renaissance, excelled at capturing the status and character of his sitters. It’s hard to escape the symbolism and position held in Venetian society during the sixteenth century. Editor: Definitely a portrait steeped in Venetian grandeur and all its velvet curtains! The inclusion of what appears to be a beautiful clock beside him hints at valuing time and its passage. Gives you a slight melancholic feel despite his strong demeanor. Curator: Absolutely, the inclusion of the clock suggests Salvaresio’s interest in intellectual and scientific pursuits. Venetian elites like Salvaresio frequently commissioned portraits like these to affirm their status, lineage and worldly possessions, reflecting their self-image in line with humanistic ideals. Editor: Humanism sure looks like being draped in expensive furs and casually holding your gloves! I bet the pose wasn’t quite so relaxed when he was sitting there for hours. I love how Titian painted the light in the fabric, but did everyone really have such ruddy complexions then? Curator: The redness in complexion might very well have been the fashion! Highlighting wealth and, as you pointed out, alluding to vitality! Titian uses the material of oil paint to its full effect: notice how the surfaces create depth with light playing across it, from the plush fur of the robe, to the smooth skin and beard texture, reinforcing perceptions about Renaissance Venetian portraiture. Editor: It's incredible, isn’t it, how much personality is gleaned from oils. I can almost feel the chill of the room and his confidence just radiates outward. So much more than a surface depiction here. It speaks volumes. Curator: Exactly. So much about history can be read from a single carefully considered artwork, how much do you think will we reveal about ourselves if a similar painting were made of us today?