Giorgio barbarelli da castelfranco the tempest

 

Composition

Titian painted this picture for the Duke of Camerino Guidobaldo della Rovere (1514-74), who later became the Duke of Urbino, possibly to celebrate his 1534 marriage to Giuliana Varano.

Venus of urbino

Venus of urbino

Giorgione and his masterpiece The Tempest form the rare combination of a mysterious artist and a mysterious painting.

The tempest giorgione

Was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties.

The Tempest is perhaps Giorgione's most famous painting, but it is also his most mysterious.

It shows a nude young woman, reclining on a bed in the opulent surroundings of a Renaissance palace. Although the pose of the subject, identified as Venus, recalls that of Giorgione's outdoor Sleeping Venus (which the young Titian had allegedly completed after Giorgione's death) the intent behind it - as well as its detailed execution - is quite different.

Titian has relocated Venus to an intimate, indoor setting, and made her look directly at the viewer - lending her a coquettish air in the process. Where Giorgione's nude is idealized, unattainable and almost demure, Titian's is both available and deliberately tempting.

Indeed, the directness of Venus's expression is unmistakable: she stares directly at the viewer, quite unfazed about her nudity.