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Titian: The Last Days
A compelling portrait of the life, work, and meaning of one of the greatest artists of all time.
Toward the end of his long life, Tiziano Vecelli—known to the world ever since as Titian (circa 1488– 1576)—was at work on a number of paintings that he kept in his studio, never quite completing them, as though wanting to endlessly postpone the moment of closure. Produced with his fingers as much as with the brush, Titian’s last paintings are imbued with a unique rawness and immediacy without precedent in the history of Western art. As if to further cloud their meaning, after the outbreak of plague that took his life, Titian’s studio was looted and many canvases were taken; what happened to them is not known.
But what did Titian, who had experienced as much in the way of material success and critical acclaim as any artist before or since, mean by these works? Titian: The Last Days is a quest through the great artist’s life and work toward the physical and spiritual landscape of his last paintings. Vividly re-creating the atmosphere of sixteenth-century Venice and Europe, Mark Hudson chronicles Titian’s relationships with his own mentors (Bellini and Giorgione), rivals, and patrons—among them popes, kings, and emperors— as well as his troubled dealings with his own family. Paralleling this narrative is Hudson’s personal journey through Titian’s life and career, exploring the relentless formal development that led to the breakthroughs of his last days, and the mystery behind his missing paintings.
Moving from Titian’s hometown in the Dolomites to the greatest churches and palaces of the age, to Venice then and now, Titian: The Last Days is an original and compelling study of one of Europe’s greatest artists.
Toward the end of his long life, Tiziano Vecelli—known to the world ever since as Titian (circa 1488– 1576)—was at work on a number of paintings that he kept in his studio, never quite completing them, as though wanting to endlessly postpone the moment of closure. Produced with his fingers as much as with the brush, Titian’s last paintings are imbued with a unique rawness and immediacy without precedent in the history of Western art. As if to further cloud their meaning, after the outbreak of plague that took his life, Titian’s studio was looted and many canvases were taken; what happened to them is not known.
But what did Titian, who had experienced as much in the way of material success and critical acclaim as any artist before or since, mean by these works? Titian: The Last Days is a quest through the great artist’s life and work toward the physical and spiritual landscape of his last paintings. Vividly re-creating the atmosphere of sixteenth-century Venice and Europe, Mark Hudson chronicles Titian’s relationships with his own mentors (Bellini and Giorgione), rivals, and patrons—among them popes, kings, and emperors— as well as his troubled dealings with his own family. Paralleling this narrative is Hudson’s personal journey through Titian’s life and career, exploring the relentless formal development that led to the breakthroughs of his last days, and the mystery behind his missing paintings.
Moving from Titian’s hometown in the Dolomites to the greatest churches and palaces of the age, to Venice then and now, Titian: The Last Days is an original and compelling study of one of Europe’s greatest artists.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 7, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 1, 2013
This book on Titian by Mark Hudson is really not a biography but a story of Hudson traveling around Venice searching for information on the last days of Titian. He takes us on a hunt for the house he died in during the plague of 1576. As Hudson wanders the city he describes the various painting by Titian in great depth and detail. He does attempt to show how Titian evolves as a painter from apprentice to old age. He appears to have a great deal of difficulty finding information about Titian as a man in the last days of his life. What brought me to read the book was a remark that said Titian was the most famous artist in the world and he never suffered from the dark decay of public neglect that has afflicted so many other artists from Guido Reni to Van Gogh. I thought if he is so famous why I have never heard of him. I am not an artist nor have I studied art but I have read a few biographies of artist and thought I knew some of the more popular famous ones. So I read this book to bring my art education up to date. Hudson does a good job of revealing the constant intrigue and backstabbing of the renaissance world. After reading the description of some of the pictures by Titian I did go on line and look at a few paintings. Hudson states that after Titian death Venice gathered many of Titian painting to display but the building caught fire and many were lost. Over all it has been an interesting education and enjoyable tour of Venice. I read this book in audio book format. Napoleon Ryan narrated the book.
December 26, 2009
Received through Goodreads First Reads for free.
Although this book purports to be about Titian's last days, there really wasn't a whole lot of explanation about those last days at all. The author painstakingly explains that he had a hard time finding out anything at all about Titian's late life, but he spends so much time doing this that the book almost becomes a travelogue of the author's attempts to find information about Titian, with a lot of guesswork thrown in. It is more accurately "Finding Titian: My Winter Accosting Random Venetians on the Street Outside What Was Probably Titian's House, Trying to Get Inside." Mark Hudson obviously knows a lot about art history and interpreting paintings, particularly those of Titian. However, although he goes into great detail about the paintings, only a handful are included in the book for us to reference while reading his insightful descriptions. These two things--the lack of visual references, and the lack of anything concrete--made this book a bit of a disappointment in terms of what it attempted to portray.
Although this book purports to be about Titian's last days, there really wasn't a whole lot of explanation about those last days at all. The author painstakingly explains that he had a hard time finding out anything at all about Titian's late life, but he spends so much time doing this that the book almost becomes a travelogue of the author's attempts to find information about Titian, with a lot of guesswork thrown in. It is more accurately "Finding Titian: My Winter Accosting Random Venetians on the Street Outside What Was Probably Titian's House, Trying to Get Inside." Mark Hudson obviously knows a lot about art history and interpreting paintings, particularly those of Titian. However, although he goes into great detail about the paintings, only a handful are included in the book for us to reference while reading his insightful descriptions. These two things--the lack of visual references, and the lack of anything concrete--made this book a bit of a disappointment in terms of what it attempted to portray.
January 13, 2010
Unlike the other reviews that I read, I was not concerned about the majority of the book being NOT about Titians Last Days. I feel to fully understand a man at his end, you must understand the journey he traversed to get to his final destination. Mark Hudson did an excellent job of researching his subject. Honestly it is remarkable what he was able to glean new information from a well trodden path. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. My one consternation was I was slowed down by trying to locate other artist pictures that Mr. Hudson used to compare with Titian! I wanted to see how flat and lifeless Bellini was in relation to the movement and color of Titian. I wanted to compare Titian portrait of Pope Paul(?) with other masters of the time. Yes, yes, this did slow me down but the research made the book all the more rewarding. I really enjoyed it!
November 8, 2013
I loved it. I've read many books on titian, and this was the most readable by a long way. The prose is as sumptuous as the paintings. Art criticism, history, political and social context, and personal reflection were carefully layered in a lucid and compelling way. Yes there was a struggle to get to the facts of those final days and the nature of the artist's personality, but that was in the nature of the project. This was 500 years ago.
April 29, 2011
This book is a wonderful, though sometimes slightly confused, mix of travelogue, biography, art history and general history. The subtitle The Last Days is entirely misleading as it looks at most of Titian's life and a large proportion of his paintings and puts his work in context with the other developments in Venetial art at the time.
Large amounts of the narrative is spent detailing Titian's paintings, and where these paintings are shown in the colour plates in the centre of the book this is wonderful reading. I totally enjoyed discovering the depths to paintings that were being discribed to me as well as being available in front of my eyes. Some of the described paintings weren't available in the book though and these long descriptions became slightly tiresome as I wanted to have them in front of me, I'm not sure that the author should be expecting all readers to have a good visual memory for large numbers of paintings!
The book also went into a lot of detail about Titian's methods of working and how he had access to a large number of styles of painting, not to mention his assistants! I found it fascinating that often he would quiet blatantly adapt paintings by other artists, add his own background, paint the head of his model (or patron) onto the existing body and hey presto! another masterpiece! Not to mention the studio copies (mostly carried out by his assistants) of his own works.
There is also a lot of information about the art scene in Venice in the 1500s, the history of the times and the epidemics that periodically swept the city, including the 1576 plague which is believed to have killed Titian.
Added to all this, are a lot of discussions about eroticism in art. Many paintings of the period (including several by Titian himself) used naked people in suggestive poses, that were made respectable by the addition of a mythological tale. Titian seems to have been the first artist to have drawn a naked woman without this justification, and this painting The Venus of Urbino scandalised many people (Mark Twain reportedly described it as 'the obscenest picture the world possesses') while what we see is a beautiful young woman in a pose that is no more suggestive than the poses of many nymphs in many mythological paintings.
Interspered in all this are accounts of the author's travels round Venice in search of Titian's last home and round various art galleries and religious buildings in search of the artists paintings.
It's a totally fascinating book and a must read for anyone interested in art history or in the process of how artists work.
Large amounts of the narrative is spent detailing Titian's paintings, and where these paintings are shown in the colour plates in the centre of the book this is wonderful reading. I totally enjoyed discovering the depths to paintings that were being discribed to me as well as being available in front of my eyes. Some of the described paintings weren't available in the book though and these long descriptions became slightly tiresome as I wanted to have them in front of me, I'm not sure that the author should be expecting all readers to have a good visual memory for large numbers of paintings!
The book also went into a lot of detail about Titian's methods of working and how he had access to a large number of styles of painting, not to mention his assistants! I found it fascinating that often he would quiet blatantly adapt paintings by other artists, add his own background, paint the head of his model (or patron) onto the existing body and hey presto! another masterpiece! Not to mention the studio copies (mostly carried out by his assistants) of his own works.
There is also a lot of information about the art scene in Venice in the 1500s, the history of the times and the epidemics that periodically swept the city, including the 1576 plague which is believed to have killed Titian.
Added to all this, are a lot of discussions about eroticism in art. Many paintings of the period (including several by Titian himself) used naked people in suggestive poses, that were made respectable by the addition of a mythological tale. Titian seems to have been the first artist to have drawn a naked woman without this justification, and this painting The Venus of Urbino scandalised many people (Mark Twain reportedly described it as 'the obscenest picture the world possesses') while what we see is a beautiful young woman in a pose that is no more suggestive than the poses of many nymphs in many mythological paintings.
Interspered in all this are accounts of the author's travels round Venice in search of Titian's last home and round various art galleries and religious buildings in search of the artists paintings.
It's a totally fascinating book and a must read for anyone interested in art history or in the process of how artists work.
August 17, 2019
This book is written in one of my all-time favorite genres--a kind of travelogue quest. Not unlike some of my favorite early books by William Dalrymple, the author sets out to find out what happened in Titian's last years--specifically about the possibility of uncovering lost paintings that might have been stolen in the hours after the master died of the plague. As some reviewers complained, the quest is not achieved. Not a problem because along the way, you will be taken on a tour of Titian's life--and what a life he had! He was famous throughout the continent during his lifetime and is a rare case of an artist whose fame never lapsed. Hudson tells the story with great humor and verve. I loved the book!!
Alas, I had to remove a star because I feel the book would have benefitted with help from an art historian. I am not a Titian expert but even I found various small errors. Example, the girl with the fan does not only exist in the Rubens copy. There is the famous version by Titian in Dresden. Titian made several versions. Also, even though I loved Hudson's Hapsburg chapters, he was not exactly clear about the paintings in el Escorial. The paintings were very different in Titian and Philip II's day. Philip II was a great connoisseur and had Bosch's Garden of Heavenly Delight hanging across from his bed as he lie dying. Most of the paintings were removed to the Prado. I found many small errors--mainly about matters Hapsburg (I suppose being British he could not resist the jokes about the black Spanish bureaucracy etc.).
That said, Hudson is fun and really entertaining on Hapsburg stuff and I love his descriptions of place. I also loved his descriptions about the pictures.... but he could have cut down the over-use of the word "flesh" yes I know it is Titian but my God, how many times does he regale us with quivering flesh? I challenge other readers to count the times the word appears.
Finally... I listened on Audible and was very distracted by the narration. Not a huge problem but the narration was done in an accent that to Americans will sound like Tyrion Lannister's "southern posh" accent.... hate hate hate.... And then all the Italians sound like they are Romanian (count Dracula??) --but he does Italian women as Italians for some reason.... and don't get me started on his Titian voice. I suppose it was entertaining for me but I got so distracted by it! Sheila Hale's tome on Titian is more reliable--though this one is sweet and wide-ranging. I loved it.
Alas, I had to remove a star because I feel the book would have benefitted with help from an art historian. I am not a Titian expert but even I found various small errors. Example, the girl with the fan does not only exist in the Rubens copy. There is the famous version by Titian in Dresden. Titian made several versions. Also, even though I loved Hudson's Hapsburg chapters, he was not exactly clear about the paintings in el Escorial. The paintings were very different in Titian and Philip II's day. Philip II was a great connoisseur and had Bosch's Garden of Heavenly Delight hanging across from his bed as he lie dying. Most of the paintings were removed to the Prado. I found many small errors--mainly about matters Hapsburg (I suppose being British he could not resist the jokes about the black Spanish bureaucracy etc.).
That said, Hudson is fun and really entertaining on Hapsburg stuff and I love his descriptions of place. I also loved his descriptions about the pictures.... but he could have cut down the over-use of the word "flesh" yes I know it is Titian but my God, how many times does he regale us with quivering flesh? I challenge other readers to count the times the word appears.
Finally... I listened on Audible and was very distracted by the narration. Not a huge problem but the narration was done in an accent that to Americans will sound like Tyrion Lannister's "southern posh" accent.... hate hate hate.... And then all the Italians sound like they are Romanian (count Dracula??) --but he does Italian women as Italians for some reason.... and don't get me started on his Titian voice. I suppose it was entertaining for me but I got so distracted by it! Sheila Hale's tome on Titian is more reliable--though this one is sweet and wide-ranging. I loved it.
January 16, 2010
I really wish I had read Titian: The Last Days before seeing his paintings, or, more accurately, I now have a strong wish to see his paintings again. This book explores several of his paintings with reference to the corresponding circumstances of his personal life, peer influences, and politics. Further, it asks questions about the figures represented in the paintings, and Hudson gently poses some ideas about Titian’s relationships with his subjects.
I do agree with some of the other readers that the format was sometimes confusing—it switches from straight biography to narrative of author’s quest and back. Sometimes, also, there are off-topic asides that, while interesting, are not completely merited (e.g. the sixteenth-century pornography part).
I knew/know very little about Titian and art history in general, but I found this to be informative and provocative. It was a challenging read for me—rather like a difficult college course, but one I’m glad to have made it through.
I do agree with some of the other readers that the format was sometimes confusing—it switches from straight biography to narrative of author’s quest and back. Sometimes, also, there are off-topic asides that, while interesting, are not completely merited (e.g. the sixteenth-century pornography part).
I knew/know very little about Titian and art history in general, but I found this to be informative and provocative. It was a challenging read for me—rather like a difficult college course, but one I’m glad to have made it through.
January 19, 2010
This book was part of the first reads give away. Not the typical book I would have bought on my own but I am really glad that I had the opportunity to read it. The descriptions of Venice by the author were terrific and I learned new things about renaissance Italian artists. The one critique I have is that there were several sections where lists of names seemed to go on forever - they weren't central to the narrative and they really didn't seem necessary.
December 21, 2009
This is as much an detail of Hudson's quest to uncover Titian's last days as it was the story (with some supposition) of the end of the artist's life. The author handles deftly the juxtaposition between the inestimable impact Titian had on renaissance Venice and the near malaise encountered in the 21st-century city.
January 23, 2011
very good. review to come
December 31, 2022
Great book
July 3, 2020
I couldn't finish this book. I was really excited to learn about Titian as I am currently learning how to draw. Unfortunately, what I thought was an introduction about the author's trip to Italy is actually the whole book. The information about Titian and the art of that time is interesting but there is too little and too often the author is just writing a whole page just to explain that "we don't know" "maybe". So you're reading a book just to learn nothing.
I moved on to another book called Venice Drawing by Catherin Whistler wich is all about educating the reader and analysing the old masters drawings, along with over a hundred illustrations.
I moved on to another book called Venice Drawing by Catherin Whistler wich is all about educating the reader and analysing the old masters drawings, along with over a hundred illustrations.
August 7, 2024
I enjoyed the writers approach , to balance a biography with an autobiographical endeavour , Titian a historical figure , but also a series of surviving artistic works to be sought out and experienced . Titian has got to be experienced , I waited years before coming across unexpectedly the "Flaying of Marsyas" after I heard about the sensation it caused when it was first exhibited in London in the 1980s . I can say I didn't really get ,or appreciate ,the mind behind , and environmental background of these awesome works , paintings such as the two versions Martyrdom of San Lorenzo in Venice and Spain , but my interest is certainly increased after reading Hudson's book.
July 7, 2025
I knew nothing about Titian before reading this book. And now I know quite a bit more and I also understand a little bit more about what makes great paintings and a bit more bout renaissance Venice and art in general. So while this wasn't always the most captivating read I consider all those things pluses.
April 27, 2024
A biography should put the subject in the spotlight. As Edmund Morris and Robert K. Massie do so well, the biographer should become almost invisible. This biography did not do that. This was more a travelogue and a lot of guesswork about Titian's life and paintings.
Yes, we learned about parts of his life: his relationship with his teacher Giovanni Bellini, snippets about Tintoretto and Giorgione, and his famous commissioned poesie for Phillip II, son of Charles V, which took inspiration from Ovid. But then we would snap back to the 21st century and the author's Venice travels. The spell was lost. Again and again. Look elsewhere for a Titian biography.
Yes, we learned about parts of his life: his relationship with his teacher Giovanni Bellini, snippets about Tintoretto and Giorgione, and his famous commissioned poesie for Phillip II, son of Charles V, which took inspiration from Ovid. But then we would snap back to the 21st century and the author's Venice travels. The spell was lost. Again and again. Look elsewhere for a Titian biography.
December 28, 2009
I have just received my copy yesterday(14 Dec 09) from Bloomsbury, and I wish to thank them for having the giveaway and goodreads for giving us the chance to have these giveaways. The book is very beautiful, the cover you can see but it also includes eight color plates and cream colored pages, which I have discovered, is much easier to read and presents less as a textbook and more as a enjoyable read.
In the beginning the book presented as a bit of a travelogue to the author and his various visits to Venice and other museums along with the inherent trouble of being a visitor in strange places. Then we learn of history and the happenings going on during the time of Titian, the people that were important and the people surrounding Titian. Of Titian we hear of where he was born and when he likely moved to Venice and the people who were clients. Towards the end of the book we delve into the paintings that are still credited to be mainly Titian's work, provided with pictures of eight of those, I wish all that were described had been included, the subjects, the context and the clients for whom they were being painted. We hear of Titian's many manoeuvrings to be paid, that he had children, a household and such. Apparently this is the only way we can know Titian because there is so little documentation, just cold records, no diary, a few testimonies by devoted friends on his paintings, but little of Titian himself.
We hear of the climate of Venice when Titian dies and the fight over his estate and his last painting, done by him for his tomb.
While there is a list of acknowledgments there is no references or bibliography, this is a story of interpretation of Titian and his paintings, with some history by the author, and it can lead you, hopefully, into appreciating Titian and his works a little better.
In the beginning the book presented as a bit of a travelogue to the author and his various visits to Venice and other museums along with the inherent trouble of being a visitor in strange places. Then we learn of history and the happenings going on during the time of Titian, the people that were important and the people surrounding Titian. Of Titian we hear of where he was born and when he likely moved to Venice and the people who were clients. Towards the end of the book we delve into the paintings that are still credited to be mainly Titian's work, provided with pictures of eight of those, I wish all that were described had been included, the subjects, the context and the clients for whom they were being painted. We hear of Titian's many manoeuvrings to be paid, that he had children, a household and such. Apparently this is the only way we can know Titian because there is so little documentation, just cold records, no diary, a few testimonies by devoted friends on his paintings, but little of Titian himself.
We hear of the climate of Venice when Titian dies and the fight over his estate and his last painting, done by him for his tomb.
While there is a list of acknowledgments there is no references or bibliography, this is a story of interpretation of Titian and his paintings, with some history by the author, and it can lead you, hopefully, into appreciating Titian and his works a little better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2014
I wanted to read this because I have a biography on Titian in Italian by Alvise Zorzi ...which I struggle through so I thought this might give me a context for that. It did, in a way and I think I did appreciate the (to me) cavalier approach to art critique. The author runs hot and cold in many ways but his descriptions of Titian's works that are detailed here ARE truly wonderful - whether you agree w/ the interpretation or not, he does a bang of job of expressing the 'possibilities'. I loved that.
I don't think Mr. Hudson thinks much of Titian as a man but he gives enough background in small details that you do feel you get a sense of the man...and enough room for your own interpretation for whatever difference that may make.
I'm glad I read it, this one, rather than just 'another biography of Titian'. As friends know, I adore and love all things Venetian. Mr Hudson doesn't have the same prejudices on that either but I still liked trugging through the calli and campieli w/ him.
I don't think Mr. Hudson thinks much of Titian as a man but he gives enough background in small details that you do feel you get a sense of the man...and enough room for your own interpretation for whatever difference that may make.
I'm glad I read it, this one, rather than just 'another biography of Titian'. As friends know, I adore and love all things Venetian. Mr Hudson doesn't have the same prejudices on that either but I still liked trugging through the calli and campieli w/ him.
June 25, 2024
Fascinating, but...isn't there always with books that make claims, there isn't a lot of information about Titian's last days and this is one of those books which end up being about the author's journey to discover well, nothing. That doesn't mean that there is nothing to discover it just means that Mark Hudson didn't find it, though more honestly even if he had I doubt if he would recognised important information if it fell into his lap.
Mr. Hudson is a journalist and his previous works seem to have been about music. There is nothing to suggest he can read Italian, let alone Venetian dialect, or Latin and he doesn't appear to have any art historical background or training and certainly no experience in archival research. I can't imagine an author less equipped to write about Titian's last days. It is almost an insult for a publisher to have presented this farago in their catalogues of forthcoming books.
Mr. Hudson is a journalist and his previous works seem to have been about music. There is nothing to suggest he can read Italian, let alone Venetian dialect, or Latin and he doesn't appear to have any art historical background or training and certainly no experience in archival research. I can't imagine an author less equipped to write about Titian's last days. It is almost an insult for a publisher to have presented this farago in their catalogues of forthcoming books.
March 3, 2011
I just really couldn't get into this one...and I had such high hopes too. I know that with any study of Italian High Renaissance, people and place names are sometimes difficult to pronounce, but that was just the start of my problems with the book. Titian is one of my favorite Renaissance artists, but, maybe it was just the author's writing style, I felt it was too dry, and not drawing me in. One of my other problems was with the way the author switched between a first person narrative set a few years back and with Titian's time narrated in third person. There was no page break to separate the two time frames, no line of asterisks or start of a new chapter, just separation of paragraphs. Once I realized what was bothering me, the subject of the book couldn't entice me to see past it.
Recieved as a Goodreads First Read.
Recieved as a Goodreads First Read.
December 19, 2009
I was really looking forward to this book and so was very disappointed in it when it turned out not to meet my expectations. The book should have been called "My Search for the Last Days of Titian" as the author spends just as much time writing about the process of his search and research as he does about Titian's life and work. That is not what I look for in a book on an artist but obviously others will be perfectly happy having those details included. The book also skips around a great deal from the beginning of Titian's painting career to the end then the middle and back to the beginning, at all times asking how old was he really? I prefer linear books so that was also a feature I did not appreciate though others might.
Full disclosure: I got this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Full disclosure: I got this book through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
January 31, 2010
There was a pretty serious disconnect between what the book is described as being about, and what it actually contained. Although the biographical information on Titian was compellingly rendered, little to no new information was provided. The author's personal stories seemed to intrude on the biographical narrative, and he often repeated information in two or three different chapters.
September 1, 2016
Enjoyable. I learned quite a bit about Titian, which was my goal with the book. Other reviews complained of the "naval-gazing" nature of the 1st person narration but it didn't bother me too much. I learned something about Venice, which was also my goal since I have a trip coming up there.
July 30, 2010
I thought it was interesting at parts, but I got really bored during other parts.
I forgot to put that I won this from Good Reads First Reads.
I forgot to put that I won this from Good Reads First Reads.
January 13, 2010
This is a beautiful book, but first person narration is not the way to write a biography. There is more about the author than the artist in this book.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews