Hum 151-06 - an Ageless Masterpiece: Titian’s Venus of Urbino

Anmol Kanotra

Professor Fraley

HUM 151-06

October 20, 2015

An Ageless Masterpiece: Titian’s Venus of Urbino 

        The oil painting on canvas Venus of Urbino lures its viewers in by utilizing certain compositional elements and principles and most notably by teasing human nature. Titian, the artist of Venus of Urbino, masterfully employed line, color, and mass to achieve the focal area and create unity. The elements attract viewers to the woman, named presumably Venus as the title implies, in the painting where she holds direct yet delicate eye contact with them, evoking feelings of warmth and sensuality.

Titian’s use of color, specifically value, is significant in this piece, because the brightness of the woman’s porcelain skin tone, the area of the highest value in the painting, draws the viewer’s eyes to the focal area of the work. Titian color palette consisted of a stark contrast between vibrant red and white hues and the dark black background, presumably also to secure the viewer’s attention towards Venus. Furthermore, Titian utilized value to illustrate the three-dimensionality of Venus and her surroundings by use of the Chiaroscuro technique. The detailed and intense lightening and shading in the sheets and her physique induce an intimate atmosphere. Not only did Titian use color to emphasize Venus’s body by employing Chiaroscuro, but he also added rosy hues to her cheekbones and lips to add feminine characteristics to the work. Therefore, color is arguably the most critical element used in this work because it gives Venus an implied mass or fully human appearance.

After Venus takes a hold of the viewer’s gaze through the use of color, the viewer is manipulated by line. Titian’s use of line is noteworthy in this piece for two reasons: 1) the curvy lines evoke a strong emotional response and 2) the lines direct the viewer’s line of vision. For example, the eye tends to follow a downward linear direction from her eyes to her hand over her genitalia to her feet as her curvy body lies somewhat diagonally. By painting the curvy lines to form the ideal shape of a woman’s body, Titian creates an emotional value of carnal desire. Line is used to direct the viewer’s vision from the focal area to the surroundings (Sporre 51). This concept can be observed as Titian’s lines guide the viewer’s vision towards the various symbols in the painting. For example, the viewer focuses on Venus initially then moves to the dog and the little girl in the distance. Thus, line is another notable element employed in this piece because of the powerful physical and emotional responses it induces.