AF-LX-1138.T.jpg

Engraving featuring a reproduction of the Titian painting, Perseus and Andromeda, at top, and a paragraph of description in French below. Image is cited as being "de la Galerie de S.A.S Monseigneur le Duc d'Orleans" (from the gallery of the Duke of Orleans); the descriptive passage is headed: "Ecole Venitienne. Ve. Tableau de Titien Vecelli. Peint sur Toile, ayant de hauteur 5 Pieds 6 Pouces, sur 6 Pieds 2 Pouces de large. Andromede, fille de Cephee et de Cassiope, enorgueillie de sa beaut̩, s'̩toit vant̩e de l'emporter sur les N̩r̩��des." (Venetian School. Painting by Titian Vecelli. Painted on canvas, 5 ft 6 in tall, by 6 ft 2 in long. Andromeda, daughter of Cephee and of Cassiopeia, boasting of her beauty, had bragged that it would triumph over [that of the] Naraiads.)
It continues (in translation): "To punish her, they tied her to a cliff where a sea monster would devour her; but Perseus, who was travelling in the air, had seen her, killed the monster, delivered her, and brought her to his [or her--unclear from context] father, who gave him her hand in marriage. This subject, which so many painters have treated, cannot fail, under Titian's paintbrush, to become interesting in many respects. In it, one admires a fine and delicate style, a harmonious effect. Andromeda, above all, is remarkable for the beauty of her coloring. Her attitude is simple and natural: she is chained to a cliff whose large and vigorous mass forms a beautiful contrast with the diaphanous hues of the waters, the sky, and the distance. One perceives the shells, corals, and plants which the sea has tossed up at the base of the cliffs which occupy the foreground. One can see in the background a city and numerous people who line the edge of the sea. The talents of Titian were celebrated and merited the term [?], by the most distinguished persons of his time. The Arioste, with which he had forged a bond of friendship with Alphonse I, duke of Ferraro, had consecrated in his Poem of Roland ["Raging Roland", depicted elsewhere in this collection] the name of this immortal Painter; who, in gratitude, painted his portrait [i.e. Ferraro's]. The famous satyrist, Pierre Aretin, himself did not spare, in his bitter censures, nearly any sovereign of Europe, lavished Titian with praise. He thus acquired a fame that his Paintings can only justify more and more; and one searches all over to reveal [?] his most important works."
The passage closes with the name of the author: "M. le Niquet, Scrip."


whales
1700-01-02
PERMANENT COLLECTION
Hart Nautical
Borel; Delignon, L.; Vecelli, Titian
ink; laid paper
16 1/4 in x 11 1/2 in
France