properly called Tiziano Vecellio, one of the greatest painters that has ever lived. He was of the noble family of the Vecelli, and was born in 1477, at the small village of Cadore, on the Piave, near the foot of the Alps, in the Venetian territory. Before leaving his native village, he was probably instructed by an artist of that place, now but little known, called Antonio Rossi; but at the age of ten he was sent by his father to the house of an uncle in Venice, to be placed under some more competent master. Here he studied first under Sebastiano Zuccari, and then under Gentile Bellini; but at length attached himself to the school of Giovanni, the brother of the latter, and then the first painter in Venice. The prevailing style of art in Venice then was to neglect the masterpieces of antiquity for a laborious and minute imitation of nature; and in this manner are executed some of Titian's early works, wonderful productions even when compared with those of the best Venetian painters of the day. Among these are a picture of "Christ and the Tribute Money," now in Dresden, and many portraits, in which even the separate hairs on the heads, and stitches in the clothes of the figures are visible. An improvement on the common style was first introduced by a fellow-pupil of Titian, Giorgione di Castel Franco, who had adopted somewhat of the manner of Leonardo da Vinci; and the new style was followed by Titian, many of whose works about this time could hardly be distinguished from those of Giorgione. For a time the two painters were close friends, but at length an incident occurred that raised an ill feeling between them. Giorgione had been executing frescoes for the German warehouse, then newly erected at Venice, and a portion of this work had been intrusted to Titian; when some friends of Giorgione, not knowing this arrangement, remarked to him, that he had done the latter portion of his work better than the former, and thus roused his jealousy of his friend. On the death of his master in 1512, leaving unfinished a historical painting in the council-hall of the doge's palace, Titian was commissioned by the government to complete it; and having done so to their satisfaction, was appointed to the office of *Seneseria*, requiring him, for a salary of 300 crowns a year, to paint portraits of all the doges created in his time. In 1514, Titian was invited to Ferrara by Duke Alfonso I., to complete the decorations of a room in his palace, and here he painted several very fine works; among others, the "Bacchus and Ariadne," now in the National Gallery at London. On his return to Venice in 1516, he painted his masterpiece, the "Assumption of the Virgin," one of the finest pictures in the world; which, along with those he had done at Ferrara, spread his fame more widely, and procured him an invitation to Rome from Pope Leo X., warmly seconded by Raphael. But his proposed journey was delayed till 1520, and finally given up on the death of Raphael and the pope. About this time, Titian formed an acquaintance with the poet Ariosto, who, in his great work, mentions him along with Raphael, as one of the great painters of the day. The poet Aretino, who left Rome and settled in Venice about 1527, became intimate with Titian, and was the means of gaining for him the patronage of the Emperor Charles V.; for Titian, notwithstanding his great fame, had hitherto lived in a very humble style. In 1530 he was summoned to Bologna, to paint a portrait of the emperor; and here he also took those of Ippolito de Me- Titian died and several other distinguished persons. From thence he went to Mantua, and executed for the Duke Gonzaga pictures of the twelve Caesars. He painted Charles V., a second time at Bologna in 1532; and it was probably soon after this that he accompanied him into Spain, where he spent three years. In 1536, he met the emperor at Asti in Piedmont, returning from his African expedition, and he had now attained so great favour with Charles, that he would not allow any one else to take his portrait; and each time that Titian painted him he presented him with 1000 crowns (about L500). It was probably in 1535 that he created him count palatine of the empire and knight of St Jago; and in 1541 and 1548 he granted him two pensions, amounting in all to 400 crowns a year. This, along with his salary from the Venetian government, and the income derived from his paintings, enabled Titian to live in great affluence, and his house at Venice became a favourite resort for the nobles of that city. In 1545, a false report of his death so much distressed the emperor, that Titian himself wrote a letter to him contradicting it; and the intimate terms on which he stood with Charles is further illustrated by the anecdote, that the latter once, looking on while Titian was painting, when he had let his brush fall, picked it up and gave it to him, with the words, "Titian is worthy to be served by Caesar." In 1543 he was invited by Pope Paul III. to Bologna, where he painted his portrait; and a further request to accompany him to Rome was declined at that time, though two years later he visited that city, and again painted the pope, in a group along with Cardinal Farnese and Duke Octavio Farnese. While at Rome, Titian was visited, among other distinguished persons, by Michael Angelo, who, after seeing him at work on a picture of "Danae and the Golden Shower," is reported to have said, that it was a pity the Venetians did not study drawing more; for if Titian were aided by Art as much as by Nature, he would have produced imitable works. Titian left Rome in May 1546, enriched with many presents, and returned by way of Florence to Venice. While at Florence, he offered to take the portrait of Duke Cosmo de Medici, but was not permitted. Soon after, the pope offered him the office of keeper of the seals, then vacant, but he declined it. In the beginning of 1548, Titian, on the invitation of the emperor, resorted to his court at Augsburg; and he again visited him at the same place in 1550. According to some accounts, his visit to Spain occurred after this; but this is not very probable, as the emperor was not in Spain at this time. Many of Titian's works are in that country, but these were not all painted there; as he sent many pictures from Italy both to Charles and to his successor, Philip II. Among these were one of the "Last Supper," and one of Titian's finest works, the "Martyrdom of St Lawrence," both for the Escorial. He also painted portraits of Philip, and of his wife, Queen Mary of England. His mode of painting in his later works was somewhat different from those he did in his youth, being much less minute and delicate, though he never executed any without much care and labour. He lived in his old age at Venice, and continued painting till the last; although the decay of his powers was manifest in the pictures he produced during the last ten years of his life. But he often showed the utmost irritation when any one ventured to hint that these works were unworthy of him. He lived in ease and affluence, esteemed and loved by all who knew him; and having enjoyed for more than seventy years a European fame, he died of the plague, at the age of ninety-nine, in 1576. By special permission of the senate, he was buried, but without pomp, in the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari; where a costly mausoleum has recently been erected in his honour, by order of the Emperor Ferdinand I. The statue of the artist, in a sitting posture, with two allegorical figures, is surmounted by a handsome canopy, supported by four pillars. Of the private life and character of Titian but little is known. He appears to have been of an amiable and agreeable disposition; although he is believed to have been much influenced by a jealousy of his rivals. This is said to have extended even to his brother Francesco, and to have led to his dismissing the young Tintoretto from his school. His chief friends at Venice were Aretino the poet, and Sansovino the architect, from whom he was almost inseparable. An account of the style and principal works of Titian is given in the article PAINTING.