GUIDING QUESTIONS for Titian's VENUS OF URBINO
Warning: This is a saucy / slightly rated material!
Who is she?
Should be describe Titian's application of paint to be SMOOTH or PAINTERLY (showing obvious brushstrokes)?
Why does the BED project into the foreground / tilt forward? Why did Titian make this artistic choice?
Who was the PATRON of this work?
Where was this painting thought to have hung, originally? Was it meant for public or private viewing?
Why did Titian likely include the GREEN CURTAIN flung back in the Venus of Urbino?
What did Titian’s frequent use of this women as a model suggest about her?
Does this painting represent a specific person? If so, who? If not, what does the Venus represent?
What earlier artwork’s composition inspired Titian’s Venus of Urbino?
What is epithalamia, and how is the imagery of Venus like this one connected to it?
Prior to Titian’s “liberation of the nude” with this painting, where could you typically find images of Venus?
What is a symbol of FIDELITY that can be found in this painting?
What does the hairstyle that the Venus wears symbolize?
What ancient Greek and Roman sculptures does the pose of the Venus of Urbino reference?
Beth and Steven describe glazing (an oil painting technique). What does that mean?
What genre / artistic tradition is essentially established in ART HISTORY by Titian with this painting?