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Pope Paul III and His Grandsons
Titian · Renaissance & Mannerism
- Artist
- Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, c. 1488–1576)
- Date
- 1546
- Dimensions
- 210 x 176 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
This group portrait shows the aged Pope Paul III, of the Farnese family, seated in his red velvet cape, with his grandsons: Cardinal Alessandro Farnese standing behind him and Ottavio Farnese bowing deeply before him.
A closer look
The pope, small and hunched, turns sharply towards Ottavio, who bends almost obsequiously, as if about to kiss his feet. Behind, the cardinal stands stiffly, his hand on the chair. The scene seems charged with tension, as if Titian had caught a family drama of ambition and flattery. The reds of the curtain, tablecloth and robes create a feverish atmosphere, and the loose, sketchy brushwork leaves parts of the canvas unfinished. Titian was working on it in Rome in 1546, when relations within the family were growing strained.
