游移於宗教與自然之間: 威廉戴斯的〈提香第一堂色彩習作〉

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(1)國立臺灣師範大學藝術史研究所碩士論文 National Taiwan Normal University Graduate Institute of Art History Master‘s Degree Thesis. 游移於宗教與自然之間: 威廉戴斯的〈提香第一堂色彩習作〉. Between Nature and Religion Titian’s First Essay in Colour by William Dyce. 指導教授 Advisor: Professor Dr. Candida Syndikus 吳品慧 Wu, Pin-Hui. 中華民國 104 年 1 月 January 2015.

(2) Table of Contents English Abstract.....................................................................................................................2 Chinese Abstract....................................................................................................................5 Acknowledgement.................................................................................................................7 1. Introduction.......................................................................................................................8 2. State of Research...............................................................................................................9 3. William Dyce‘s Career as an Artist.................................................................................11 4. William Dyce‘s Titian’s First Essay……………………………………………............12 4.1. The Painting‘s Composition………………………………………………………..12 4.2. Visual Sources.........................................................................................................14 4.3. Titian’s First Essay and its Literary Sources..........................................................17 5. Dyce and Ridolfi‘s Maraviglie dell’arte.......................................................................20 5.1. Dyce‘s Experience with Italy…..……………………………….….………………21 5.2. Dyce and Charles Lock Eastlake…………………………………….……….........22 6. The Exploration of Renaissance in Nineteenth Century................................................25 7. Titian as Subject in Nineteenth-Century Painting………………………………………28 7.1. Titian and Rulers……………………………………………………………….......29 7.2. Titian and His Comtemporary Artists.....................................................................35 7.3. Titian with His Friends and Mistress......................................................................43 7.4. Titian‘s Death……………………………………………………………………....47 8. Titian’s First Essay: William Dyce‘s View on Titian…………………….....................55 8.1. Dyce and Titian………………………………………………………….................55 8.2. Titian as a Thinker between Nature and Religion……………................................63 8.3. The Dual Images: St. Luke and Melencolia I………………………………….....79 9. Conclusion......................................................................................................................90 10. Bibliography................................................................................................................ 92 Appendix: Figures............................................................................................................111. 1.

(3) Abstract In the focus of this thesis is William Dyce‘s (1806–1864)picture Titian Preparing to Make his First Essay in Colouring (Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums), which was presented in 1857 at the Royal Academy Exhibition in London. The painting was inspired by the biography of Titian in the Maraviglie dell’Arte (The Marvels of Art), published in 1648 by the Baroque artist and writer Carlo Ridolfi (1594–1658). Dyce‘s visualization of the Venetian master‘s childhood apparently reinterprets Ridolfi‘s text. By means of examining Dyce‘s experience with Italy, and his friendship with the artist and director of the National Gallery of London Charles Lock Eastlake (1793–1865), it can be demonstrated that the gap between Dyce‘s painting and Ridolfi‘s writing was made with purpose and after mature deliberation. The aim of this thesis is to discuss Dyce‘s motive to adapt his source, and to analyze the significance bestowed upon this painting. The historical background of Titian’s First Essay in nineteenth century will be taken into account. Under the influence of the popular cultural issue regarding the history between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, European artists showed interest in the lives of the Italian Renaissance artists. The anecdotes of the Venetian master Titian (c. 1485/90–1576) became the prominent topic for nineteenth-century painters to explore. Titian‘s biographies were presented in the Vite de’ piu eccellenti Pittori, Scultori, e Architettori (Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects) by the sixteenth-century Florentine artist and art historian Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574) and Ridolfi‘s Le Maraviglie dell’Arte, both of which revealed the broad reception of Titian‘s œuvre at that time and offered sufficient materials for nineteenth-century painters.. 2.

(4) In order to illuminate the picture‘s iconographic background, chapter seven will discuss the different images of Titian proposed by nineteenth-century artists. They paid attention particularly to four facets, Titian‘s relationship with rulers, Titian‘s interaction with contemporary artists, the leisure moment of Titian and his friends and mistress and Titian‘s death. Their renderings of Titian‘s life episodes are intriguing and display various aspects of the Venetian artist. The painters weaved historical facts, anecdotes and imagination together to manifest the master‘s immortal status, and they attempted to disclose the private life and the engaging personality of Titian, which were seldom mentioned in the biographies. The final chapter will focus on Dyce and Titian’s First Essay. Titian‘s influential role in the artistic course of Dyce‘s self-study will be considered. The Victorian painter created this work, when he was in his early fifties, while he reached the apex of his artistic career. He introspected his ideas of Christian art and nature, which were the pivot in his art creation. By virtue of reviewing his religious paintings, from the earlier icon Madonna and Child (1827–1830) to the later work The Garden of Gethsemane (1855), his conception of the two vital factors takes shape, and the change and hesitation of his attitude reflected in Titian’s First Essay will be analyzed. At the end of this thesis, Dyce‘s comprehension and interpretation of the anecdote from Ridolfi‘s account will be discussed. Comparing with other nineteen-century painters, Dyce drew attention to Titian‘s connection with his art. He adopted two traditional iconographical subjects in the Western art history, St. Luke and Albrecht Dürer‘s (1471–1528) Melencolia I (1514), to demonstrate his realization of the textual source. Through the iconography of the dual images, Dyce shows young Titian immersed in contemplation, and accents the deep religious inspiration blessing the gifted sixteenth-century artist. His representation of Titian marks an illustrious position in nineteenth century painting, and founded the status of the Venetian master 3.

(5) on the religious and intellectual level.. Keywords: William Dyce, Titian Preparing to Make his First Essay in Colouring, Carlo Ridolfi, Titian, St. Luke, Melencolia I. 4.

(6) 中文摘要 William Dyce (1806–1864) 是十九世紀中葉維多利亞時期的畫家，本論文主要討論他於 1857 年在英國皇家藝術學院所展的〈提香準備他的第一堂色彩習作〉(Titian Preparing to Make his First Essay in Colouring)。此作品取材於十七世紀巴洛克畫家與作家 Carlo Ridolfi (1594–1658) 在 1648 年所著的 Le Maraviglie dell’Arte (The Marvels of Art)，Dyce 運用畫筆再度詮釋 Ridolfi 筆下的威尼斯大師。然而，其畫作與十七世紀文本之間，卻有明顯的差距存在。透過檢視 Dyce 的義大利經驗、以及他與藝術家及英國國家藝廊館長 Charles Lock Eastlake (1793–1865) 之間的交情，顯示他在〈提香準備他的第一堂色彩習作〉中的改編是出自於刻意以及有意義性的詮釋。本文主旨試圖理解 Dyce 改編其文本的動機，以及探討此作品所被賦予的涵義。首先必須理解 Dyce 創作〈提香準備他的第一堂色彩習作〉的時代背景，在十八世紀八零年代到十九世紀中葉這段期間，由於受到了當時人們熱烈討論文藝復興時期歷史文化的風潮影響，西方世界的畫家們對於十四到十六世紀義大利畫家們的生活充滿興趣，威尼斯文藝復興大師—Titian (1485/90–1576) 的軼事，在十九世紀成為畫家們喜愛的題材。十六世紀佛羅倫斯藝術史家 Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574) 所著的 Vite de’ piu eccellenti Pittori, Scultori, e Architettori (Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects)以及 Ridolfi 的 Le Maraviglie dell’Arte 提供了 Titian 傳記，幫助十九世紀畫家們認識此威尼斯藝術家的生命事跡，並且做為他們創作的材料來源。為了對於〈提香準備他的第一堂色彩習作〉的圖像涵義有更寬廣的理解，下一章節將討論提香在十九世紀畫家筆下不同的面貌。畫家們主要從四個方向去描繪 Titian 的軼事與生活：Titian 與君王的相處、Titian 與同時代藝術家們的互動、 Titian 與其友人及情婦的相聚時刻，以及 Titian 的葬禮。這些作品呈現饒有趣味並且互異的 Titian 風貌，畫家們編織想像力、史實與軼事，不僅將十六世紀大師 Titian. 5.

(7) 崇高化為不朽的藝術家，同時也試圖構造史料傳記中少有著墨的私生活區塊，展現出 Titian 鮮明的性格以及其畫室以外的生活片段。在最終章，回歸到 Dyce 與〈提香準備他的第一堂色彩習作〉上，首先探討 Titian 在 Dyce 摸索藝術的過程，所扮演的關鍵角色。Dyce 約莫是在五十歲左右創作此畫，而此時他藝術家的名望恰好也達到了高峰，在此作品中 Dyce 回顧其藝術創作歷程中兩個重要元素: 大自然以及基督教藝術，文中將專注在 Dyce 歷年來的宗教畫作，從其早期於 1827–1830 所創作的〈聖母子圖〉(Madonna and Child) 出發，到 1855 年所創作的〈基督在客西馬尼花園〉(The Garden of Gethsemane)，透過檢視其一系列的宗教作品，以了解 Dyce 如何看待自然與基督教藝術之間的關係，並且分析他對於兩者態度的變化與游移如何反映在此作中。此章最後分析 Dyce 對於 Ridofli 文本的理解與詮釋，試圖明白其改編的用意。Dyce 不同於其它十九世紀畫家所呈現的 Titian 形象，他使焦點聚集於提香本身，專注於畫家與藝術間的關係，並且在此作運用兩個西方繪畫的傳統圖像: St. Luke 與 Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) 的 Melencolia I (1514)，以展現他對於文本充分的掌握。藉由巧妙地選擇花朵、安排擺佈位置以及運用花朵在基督教傳統的象徵意涵和十九世紀花語，以呼應其所參引的 St. Luke 與 Melencolia I 的圖像。透過雙重圖像的安排，Dyce 賦予 Titian 如哲人般沉思的姿態以及強調其與基督教信仰緊密的關連，試圖發掘 Titian 在創作藝術之時浸沐於內在思考的樣貌，不僅在一連串十九世紀的 Titian 圖像中獨占了一席之地，更使 Titian 提升為一名兼具宗教虔誠與充滿智慧的藝術家境界。. 關鍵字: 威廉戴斯，〈提香準備他的第一堂色彩習作〉，卡羅．里道非，提香，聖路加，憂鬱 I. 6.

(8) Acknowledgement致謝詞寫論文是一場漫長的馬拉松賽，需要堅強的毅力與腦力方可跑完全程，很高興我終於抵達終點了。非常感謝我的指導教授辛蒂庫斯 Professor Syndikus，在研究上給予我許多的幫助以及指引，並且不斷給予我充分的信心與肯定，好幾次都覺得自己快要放棄之時，和老師談完之後，又能得到滿滿的靈感與力量。此份論文的完成也要感謝兩位論文口試委員—諾斯邦老師 Professor Nussbaum 與謝佳娟老師，精準地指出此論文優缺點，也提點我可以繼續發展延伸的方向。在兩次論文口試之後，深深覺得自己又上了一門精彩的藝術史。另外，謝謝曾曬淑老師不斷的關心，還有安排豐富紮實的藝術史訓練，這幫助我能夠從不同的角度去思考與分析我的論題。謝謝Professor Bonnet、Professor Michalski與Professor Richter-Bernburg的密集課程，讓我接觸到以往較少碰觸到的藝術史領域。也非常感謝所上的助教們，常常提供行政作業上的幫助以及解惑。謝謝圖書館幫助我在文獻蒐集上能夠取得最新的資訊，尤其感謝林玉鶯阿姨，由於研究需要必須和外校圖書館借大量的書籍，總是非常有耐心的替我處理，並提醒借閱的相關事項，並且不斷的給予我溫暖的鼓勵。在書寫論文的過程之中，我並非孤軍奮戰的單打獨鬥，最感謝研究所一路走來的好朋友們: 吳馥安、陳紀吟、張佳穎與劉怡萱，在我寫作碰到瓶頸時上給予我許多建議，當我感到迷惘時陪伴著我走過低潮。謝謝我的論文馬拉松好夥伴盧履彥，我們彼此互相加油打氣。謝謝所上的學長姊還有學弟妹們的經驗談與分享，從中收獲許多。非常感謝林容年、張雅婷、陳盈君、賴佩吟、湯皓文、高文珊、楊承祐、邱倩玟、洪薇婷、高揚萱、蔡侑庭、林依靜與顏立淇，謝謝你們不離不棄給予我友情的加油，包容我與理解我。最後，謝謝我最親愛的家人，你們是我最強大的精神後盾，有了你們的支持我才可以咬緊牙關度過一個個的關卡。最重要的是，謝謝我自己，能夠相信並且實踐當初的選擇。. 7.

(9) 1. Introduction In 1857, at the age of fifty-one, the Scottish artist William Dyce (1806–64) presented his newly finished painting entitled Titian Preparing to Make his First Essay in Colouring (Fig. 1) at the summer exhibition of the Royal Academy in London.1 With this subject of history painting, Dyce paid respect to Titian as one of the major artists of the Italian Renaissance. His choice of the great Venetian master as protagonist of the scenery foreshadows the growing interest of the nineteenth century in Renaissance art history. When the picture was displayed to the public, it attracted considerable attention among the art critics. Even John Ruskin had a fervent ―Well done!‖ for the painter, although he noticed some ‗errors‘ and drew attention to a discrepancy between the painting‘s iconography and its source.2 As indicated in the exhibition catalog of the Royal Academy the subject was based on the biography of Titian by the Italian painter and writer Carlo Ridolfi (1594–1658).3 The very title of the picture seems to be misleading, as his subject is a monochrome Madonna statue. The aim of my thesis is to discuss the relationship between the painting and its literary sources and ask for the possible reasons of the interpretation. This thesis is divided into three parts. The first part spanning from Chapter one to the Chapter five will take the basic background of Dyce and Titian’s First Essay into account and point out the rift between the painting and Ridolfi‘s words. In the second part, the viewpoint will be extended to the aspect of depicting a Renaissance painter‘s life in the nineteenth century, which will be in the focus in the. 1. Oil on canvas, 91.4 x 67.2 cm, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, Aberdeen, inv. ABDAG3211. In the following text, the short title Titian’s First Essay will be used as a substitute for the longer original title Titian Preparing to Make his First Essay in Colouring. 2 E.T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn (eds.), The Works of John Ruskin, vol. 14, London 1904, p. 98-100. 3 Francina Irwin, ―William Dyce‘s Titian‘s First Essay in Colour,‖ in: Apollo 108, 1978, p. 251. 8.

(10) Chapter six and seven. In the final Chapter eight, we shall see that two subject matters, Dyce‘s concept of Christian art and nature, will play a leading role in his religious painting. By means of discussing the two key elements, we shall realize the purpose of Dyce‘s adaption.. 2. State of Research Although William Dyce, as an artist, was not very prolific, the art critics of his time approved his achievements.4 Dyce was nearly forgotten until the mid-20th century; the only reference on his biography, in connection with the German Nazarenes, by Austin Chester goes back to 1909.5 It was not until 1964, when the Aberdeen Art Gallery Museum dedicated to him a centenary exhibition, that his work drew the scholars‘ attention. The only recent comprehensive monograph on the painter, which is tellingly subtitled A Critical Biography, was published by Marcia Pointon in 1979. With reference to Dyce‘s unpublished manuscripts, Pointon supplies a broader basis for reconstructing Dyce‘s life, œuvre and theory of art.6 In 2006, an exhibition on Dyce was organized by the Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum, and the exhibition catalog edited by Caroline Babingtone includes eight essays analyzing Dyce‘s style, his landscapes, religious paintings, frescoes and his. 4. Our living painters: their lives and works: a series of nearly a hundred brief notices of contemporary artists of the English school, London 1859, pp. 61-63; J. C. Dafforne, ―British Artists: their styles and character with engraved illustration,‖ in: The Art Journal 6, 1860, pp. 293-296;―William Dyce, R.A.,‖ in: The Athenaeum 1895, 1864, pp. 265-266; ―William Dyce and William Hunt,‖ in: Saturday review of politics, literature, science and art 17, 1864, pp. 256-258; ―William Dyce, R.A.,‖ in: The Art Journal 3, 1864, pp. 113-114; ―The frescoes of William Dyce, R.A., in all Saints‘ Church, Margaret Street,‖ in: The Art Journal 35, 1864, pp. 320-321; ―Pictures by William Dyce,‖ in: Saturday review of politics, literature, science and art 77, 1894, p. 282. 5 Austin Chester, ―The art of William Dyce, R.A.,‖ in: The Windsor Magazine 29, 1909, pp. 576-590. 6 Marcia Pointon, William Dyce 1806–1864: a critical biography, Oxford 1979. See also the reviews of this book by William Vaughan, in: The Burlington Magazine 123, 1981, p. 315; N. B. Penny, in: The English Historical Review 97, 1982, p. 209. See, furthermore, Charles Carter (ed.), Centenary exhibition of the work of William Dyce, R.A. (1806–1864): oil paintings, drawings and etchings, sketches and cartoons, Aberdeen 1964; David and Francina Irwin, Scottish Paintings at home and abroad 1700–1900, London 1975. 9.

(11) achievements in church music. Particularly, the articles of Ann Steed, Jennifer Melville and Emily Hope Thomson provided deep viewpoints on Dyce with his faith and religious art for the present thesis.7 The current studies on William Dyce focus on four main issues: on his connection with Pre-Raphaelitism;8 on the influence the German Nazarenes exercised on his religious works; 9 on his role in the development of art education in the nineteenth-century Britain;10 and, finally, on Dyce as a fresco painter.11 Francina Irwin‘s monographic article on Dyce‘s Titian’s First Essay of 1978 provides the most in-depth analysis of the painting under consideration in the present study. According to Irwin, the painting is a pictorial embodiment of the concept and methods of Dyce‘s art education. Furthermore, the author analyzes the obvious impact of Venetian and Flemish art on the master.12 Lindsay Errington suggests that the painting indicates a paradigm shift of Dyce‘s attitude to naturalism. Moreover, she brings up the interpretation that Titian is conscious of nature in the perceptible world where is endowed with ―religious value.‖ 13 In a brief account, Julie F. Codell 7. Caroline Babington (ed.), William Dyce and the Pre-Raphaelite Vision, exhibition catalog, Aberdeen, Aberdeen Art Gallery, 9 September–11 November 2006, Aberdeen 2006 8 Allen Staley, ―William Dyce and Outdoor Naturalism,‖ in: The Burlington Magazine 105, 1963, pp. 470-477; Marcia Pointon, ―William Dyce as a Painter of Biblical Subjects,‖ in: The Art Bulletin 58, 1976, pp. 260-268; Clare Willsdon, ― Dyce ‗in Camera:‘ New Evidence of His Working Methods,‖ in: The Burlington Magazine 132, November, 1990, pp. 760-765; Michaela Giebellhausen, ―Holman Hunt, William Dyce and the image of Christ,‖ in: Nicola Bown, Carolyn Burdett, and Pamela Thurschwell (eds.), The Victorian Supernatural, Cambridge–New York 2004, pp. 173-194. The study of Willsdon links Dyce and the Pre-Raphaelitism together, but her principal point is on Dyce‘s application to photography. 9 William Vaughan, German Romanticism and English art, New Haven 1979; Justine Tracy Hopkins, Terrible and Traditional Muses: Science, Religion and Landscape Art from John Martin to William Dyce, Ph.D. thesis, Birkbeck College, University of London 1990. 10 Arthur D. Efland, A History of Art Education: Intellectual and Social Currents in Teaching the Visual Arts, New York 1990; Stuart Macdonald, The History and Philosophy of Art Education, Cambridge 2004. 11 Debra N. Mancoff, ―Reluctant Redactor: William Dyce reads the legend,‖ in: Martin B. Shichtman and James P. Carley (eds.), Culture and The King–The social Implications of the Arthurian Legend, New York 1994, pp. 254-273; Christine Poulson, The Quest for the Grail: Arthurian legend in British art 1840–1920, New York 1999. 12 Irwin (as note 3). 13 Lindsay Errington, ―Ascetics and Sensualists, William Dyce‘s view on Christian Art,‖ in: The Burlington Magazine 134, 1992, pp. 491-497; Debra N. Mancoff, Flora Symbolica: flowers in Pre-Raphaelite art, Munich–London 2003, p. 14. 10.

(12) interprets the painter as guided by ―divine inspiration.‖14 The similar point of view is shared by Jason Rosenfeld. He suggests that the young painter is conjuring his future development by means of the indications from nature and from the Madonna statue.15 The researches of Irwin, Errington, Codell and Rosenfeld offer the point of departure for the present thesis. Allen Staley and Marcia Pointon share the common idea that Titian’s First Essay was influenced by Pre-Raphaelitism.16 Lindsay Smith goes so far as to connect this painting with the nineteenth-century reception and conception of colors in black-and-white photography, and she considers the child painter reflecting the germination of this new technique of representation.17. 3. William Dyce’s Career as an Artist William Dyce was born in 1806 in Aberdeen, Scotland. He started the career of a scientist, but finally turned to art and theology, and he resolved on becoming a High Anglican artist.18 In addition to his interest in fine arts, he also took part in the issues of art education and public art collection.19 Moreover, he was a supporter of the Oxford Movement.20 As a devoted musician he founded the Motett Society, which was 14. Julie F. Codell, ―Artist/Art,‖ in: Helene E. Roberts (ed.), Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art, Chicago 2013, p. 63, (1st ed. Chicago 1998); Kristopher Tiffany, Dante’s “Afterlife” in William Dyce’s Paintings, Master‘s thesis, Arizona State University 2013, pp. 63-65. 15 Jason Rosenfeld, ―Millais and the ‗luster of Titian‘, ‖ in: Peter Humfrey (ed.), The Reception of Titian in Britain: from Reynolds to Ruskin, Turnhout 2013, pp. 180-181. 16 Allen Staley, The Pre-Raphaelite Landscape, Oxford 1993; Pointon (as note 7). The point of view of Staley and Pointon mainly based on the art critics in the mid-nineteenth century England that they rendered the positive comment in Titian’s First Essay and connected it with the Pre-Raphaelitism. See Cook/Wedderburn (as note 2), pp. 98-100; ―The Exhibition of the Royal Academy,‖ in: The Art Journal 3, 1857, p. 167; ―Royal Academy,‖ in: Athenæ um 1541, 1857, p. 602. The painting is also mentioned, albeit without independent judgment, in two recent master‘s theses; Huang Tsan-Wei, The Easel Painting of William Dyce, Master‘s thesis, National Kaohsiung Normal University 2009, pp. 51-52 (in Chinese language) 17 Lindsay Smith, ―‗Thinking blues‘: the memory of colour in nineteenth-century photography,‖ in: Roger Luckhurst and Josephine McDonagh (ed.), Transactions and Encounters: science and culture in the nineteenth century, Manchester 2002, pp. 57-64. 18 Chester (as note 5), p. 577; Irwin (as note 6), p. 245; Pointon (as note 6), pp. 4-5, 17. 19 Pointon (as note 6), pp. 43-60, 136-137; Efland (as note 10), pp. 58-59; Macdonald (as note 10), pp. 77-83. 20 Pointon (as note 6), p, 33 and passim. From the 1830s to the 1850s, the Oxford Movement started by 11.

(13) concerned with the reform of church music.21 Since he withdrew from the directorship in the School of Design in 1843, he was active as a fresco painter undertaking the entrustment of the royal family and the Royal Commission on the Fine Arts,22 and his decorations of the Queen‘s Robing Room at the Westminster Palace are the representative works.23 His early paintings show that he was. affected by the German Nazarenes, though he always denied to have been inspired by them.24 In the 1850s, he was associated with Pre-Raphaelitism,25 and Titian’s First Essay is usually regarded as a proof of this connection.26 In winter 1863, Dyce‘s career ended while he was at work; he passed away a few months later on 15 February 1864.27. 4. William Dyce’s Titian’s First Essay Dyce inserted rich details in the Titian’s First Essay. In order to realize how Dyce adapted the literary source and to reveal the gap between the painting and the text, it is necessary to analyze the composition, the artistic roots and Ridolfi‘s account step by step. 4.1. The Painting’s Composition. William Dyce shows young Titian in an outdoor setting, in a lovely private English. a group of the High Church Anglicans, in which the central figures were John Henry Newman, James Anthony Froude, John Keble, and Edward Bouverie Pusey. The goal of this movement is to revive the traditional Christian rituals in the Church of England. See William R. Crockett, Eucharist: Symbol of Transformation, New York 1989, p. 215. 21 Chester (as note 5), p. 580; Irwin (as note 6), pp. 249-250; Pointon (as note 6), pp. 71-76. 22 Chester (as note 5), p. 580 and passim; Irwin (as note 6), pp. 254-260; Pointon (as note 6), pp. 81-118. The chairman of the Royal Commission on the Fine Arts was Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. 23 Mancoff (as note 11), pp. 254-273; Poulson (as note 11), pp. 19-49. 24 Chester (as note 5), pp. 577-582; Irwin (as note 6), p. 244 and passim; Vaughan (as note 9), pp. 227-246; Pointon (as note 6), pp. 7, 12-15 and passim; Hopkins (as note 9), p. 217 and passim. 25 Staley (as note 8), pp. 470-477; Staley (as note 16), pp. 162-169; Pointon (as note 8), pp. 260-268 and Pointon (as note 6) pp. 260-261; Irwin (as note 6), pp. 143-154. 26 Staley (as note 16), pp. 164; Pointon (as note 6), pp. 145-146. See also the book reviews by Vaughan and Penny in note 6. 27 Pointon (as note 6), pp. 178-179. 12.

(14) garden surrounded by impressive old trees. Perching on a chair, the boy is contemplating the slender Gothic statue of a Madonna and Child, which is rising on a heavy tree stump next to him. He has pushed his chair close to the figure and turned it around, using its high back as a support for his elbow. Titian is absorbed in thought with his chin resting on the left hand; with the other, he has gathered some flowers and a porte-crayon installed with black and white chalks on an open notebook. The tree stump with the impressively detailed texture of its bark serves as a natural pedestal for the statue. Dyce plainly arranged some objects at the foot of the statue, the boy‘s black cap, a red pelargonium28 and a pole cane leading the viewer‘s gaze up to the Madonna. Titian and his model are placed face to face in the foreground of the picture. Behind them, tall oaks composed in a semicircle form a deliberate natural frame. By means of the young master‘s intense gaze and the pointing direction of the pole cane, the beholder‘s attention is drawn up to the towering Gothic statue. Under the tree stump, weeds and daisies described in a realistic manner grow vigorously. A basket filled with flowers is arranged in still life-like manner in the picture‘s lower left corner. Its lid is slipped aside displaying the various sorts of flowers in the basket and scattered around it, and a knife used for cutting the flowers is left carelessly in the grass. Mostly flowers in the primary colors and white are represented. Slightly behind the basket, some painting utensils, a glass jar filled with water or oil, and the powders of ochre pigment are displayed on the ground together with a draped white fabric. Trees, plants and objects are rendered with amazing naturalism. The rough bark of the old trees, in particular, which is composed of several layers in various colors and peels off gradually, reveals the painter‘s enormous skillfulness in observation and depiction of natural forms.. 28. Brenda Delamain and Dawn Kendall, Geraniums, London 1987, pp. 6-8; Christopher Brickell (ed.), The Royal Horticultural Society A–Z encyclopedia of garden plants, London–New York 1996, p. 758. 13.

(15) 4.2. Visual Sources Titian is sitting cross-legged on a chair with his chin resting on his hand. This posture underlines the boy‘s wistfulness. It vaguely reminds the figure of John Campbell, Duke of Argyll, at the Duke‘s monument in Westminster Abbey by the French sculptor Louis-François Roubillac (unveiled 1749), which Dyce might have studied on-site (Fig. 2).29 That Dyce found this and other motifs for his works among the monuments at Westminster Abbey, can be further demonstrated by his fresco entitled Religion: The Vision of Sir Galahad and his Company of 1851 in the Queen‘s Robing Room at Westminster Palace (Fig. 3). The star pattern and the scroll motif of the altar-front and Christ‘s throne refer to the lavish Cosmatesque decoration at the tomb of King Henry III of 1291–93 (Fig. 4).30 The pose of thinker in Titian’s First Essay could base roughly on the statue of John Campbell. However, there are influential iconographical sources for Dyce, which will be analyzed in the final chapter. From where did Dyce get the information, how Titian looked like, when he still was a boy? There are, of course, no sources of the young painter‘s appearance. It is, in fact, hardly anything known about the painter‘s early years, before he arrived in Venice. Titian‘s complexion is handed down to us by two self-portraits from the 1560s, in Berlin and Madrid, showing him as an old man (Fig. 5, Fig. 12). An engraving after the Berlin portrait precedes Carlo Ridolfi‘s biography of Titian, and we know that Dyce owned this book (Fig. 6).31 If Dyce knew these representations, they were no help for him. Hence, he had to rely on his inventiveness. Jennifer Melville suggests Dyce‘s children could serve as models as he prepared this painting.32 29. Since 1845, Westminster Abbey has been made permanently accessible to the public. Tony Trowles, Treasures of Westminster Abbey, London 2008, p. 7; Louis Cazamian, The Social Novel in England, 1830–1850: Dickens, Disraeli, Mrs Gaskell, Kingsley, London–Boston 2009, p. 93. 30 Pointon (as note 6), p. 118. 31 Carlo Ridolfi, Le Maraviglie dell’Arte overo le vite de gl’illustri pittori veneti, e dello stato, 2 vols, Venice: Giovanni Battista Sgava, 1648, vol. 1, p. 134. See also below note 53. 32 Jennifer Melville, ―Faith, Fact, Family and Friends in the Art of William Dyce,‖ in: Babington (as 14.

(16) The same applies to his costume. Titian wears a short black doublet with yellow sleeves, and a black hose. A purse is attached to his belt. When Dyce was preparing Titian’s First Essay, there was no material available about medieval and Renaissance costume. He might have consulted James Robinson Planché‘s histories of British costume33 or Frederick William Fairholt‘s Costume in England,34 all published a few years before his painting was created. It is more likely, however, that Dyce directly referred to Italian Renaissance paintings as sources for his protagonist‘s costume. One of the few examples of a boy shown in contemporary clothes in Venetian painting is to be found in Vittore Carpaccio‘s (1460/66–1525/26) Two Venetian Ladies (1490–95; Fig. 7).35 Carpaccio, who was a Venetian painter excelling at historical subject matters with an accurate narrative method, provides a very precise description of the dressing fashion around 1500 in Venice.36 The delicate ocher garment with sleeves, belt and coral hose, the boy wears in Carpaccio‘s painting can be compared to Titian‘s dress in Dyce‘s painting. The chair, on which Titian is sitting, is only at first glance a late-fifteenth-century piece of furniture. We do not know its model; according to Pointon, Dyce had borrowed it from his mother‘s parlor, without, however, providing certain evidence to support this conjecture.37 Titian‘s chair has a separately upholstered back and seat, which was invented in the late sixteenth century and in widespread use in seventeenth-century Europe. The H-stretcher and spiral turnings are the important note 7), p. 42. 33 James Robinson Planché, History of British Costume, London 1834 (2nd ed. London 1847), and British Costume–A complete history of the dress of the inhabitants of the British islands, London 1846. James Robinson Planché (1796–1880) was a famous dramatist and a costume historian that he took part in the armour collection in the Victorian and Albert Museum. See Lou Taylor, Establishing Dress History, Manchester 2004, pp. 35-36. 34 Frederick William Fairholt, Costume in England, London 1846. Frederick William Fairholt (1814–1866) was an engraver and antiquarian that he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries in 1844. See Lou Taylor, Establishing Dress History, Manchester 2004, pp. 36–37. 35 Oil on wood, 94 × 64 cm, Museo Civico Correr, Venice, inv. 44274 recto. 36 Norbert Huse and Wolfgang Wolters, The art of Renaissance Venice: architecture, sculpture, and painting, 1460–1590, Chicago 1990, p. 202. 37 Pointon (as note 6), p. 145. 15.

(17) elements of Baroque furniture. 38 These features indicate that it may be a seventeenth-century Baroque chair. The Victoria and Albert Museum (founded in 1852) with its rich furniture collection of all periods could have provided a great choice of models. 39 Therefore, the chair of Titian might be a nineteenth-century copy in Baroque style.40 As a possible model for the Madonna statue a late Gothic figure in S. Maria della Spina in Pisa by the Tuscan sculptor Nino Pisano (c. 1334/1360s–1368) has been correctly proposed (Fig. 8).41 Dyce might have seen this statue on his trip to Pisa in 1845.42 Albeit its reversed rendering, the figure‘s extremely slender proportions, her pronounced S-curve, her posture and gesture as well as the Child‘s position, make it plausible that Dyce had known this figure. He increases the delicate appearance of Pisano‘s statue; that the Madonna is seen from the side, makes her look even more slender. At the same time, Dyce improves the impression of lifelikeness, rendering her in a freer posture. The Madonna‘s delicate face is turned away from the beholder into a lost profile. As a consequence, she seems to be dialoguing with the young painter, who is raising his eyes up to her. The intent colloquy between Madonna and Child, shown by Nino Pisano, was reinterpreted by Dyce in an ambiguous way. Correspondingly, the motion of her highlighted left hand, which in the original design is dialoguing with the Child—he is trying to grasp a rose she once held43—can be read as a rhetorical gesture 38. Florence de Dampierre, Chairs: a history, New York 2006, p. 75; Judith Miller, Furniture–World styles from classical to contemporary, New York 2005, p. 36. 39 Christopher Wilk and Nick Humphrey (eds.), Creating the British Galleries at the V&A–a study in museology, London–New York 2004, p. 5; J. C. Robinson, A catalogue of the Museum of Ornament of Art at Marlborough House, Pall Mall. (part 1), 3rd rev. ed. London 1856, p. 5. 40 Pictures by William Dyce (as note 4), p. 282. 41 Irwin (as note 3), p. 253. The proposal of Nino Pisano‘s statue as a model for Dyce‘s Madonna seems to go back to Peter Kidson; ibid., p. 255, note 10. For Nino Pisano see Allan Marquand and Arthur L. Frothingham, A Text Book of the History of Sculpture, 2nd rev. ed. Whitefish 2005, pp. 143-148; John Pope-Hennessy, An introduction to Italian sculpture, London 1986, pp. 1-2. 42 Irwin (as note 6), p. 255; Penelope Curtis, On the meanings of sculpture in painting, vol. 1, Leeds 2009, p. 47. 43 Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the most eminent painters, sculptors, and architects, vol. 1, London 1850, p. 153. 16.

(18) indicating towards Titian. Furthermore, the statue in Dyce‘s picture seems like a mirror image of Nino Pisano‘s figure in Pisa (Fig. 8). This indicates that Dyce might have referred to a daguerreotype photograph, which could produce the left-right reversal images.44 The daguerreotype prevailed from 1840 to the early 1850s. Ruskin, for example, used daguerreotype photographs as illustrations in his Stones of Venice of 1851–53; 45 besides, he visited Pisa and the Gothic church of S. Maria della Spina, from which a daguerreotype exists. 46 Otherwise, a print could have been the source. Another possibility would have been a cast copy as Dyce‘s figure, especially due to the matt grey tone of its surface, does not seem to be made of marble, such as the original statue, but of plaster. Whichever illustration Dyce had used, the accuracy of his reproduction indicates that he had studied the model intensively. To describe the figure as ―a Victorian pastiche based on a fourteenth-century prototype, somewhat reminiscent of Nino Pisano,‖ as Pointon did, is therefore not appropriate.47. 4.3. Titian’s First Essay and its Literary Sources. In the exhibition catalogue of 1857, Dyce provided some brief remarks on the picture‘s historical background:48 ―Ridolfi states that Titian when a little boy gave the earliest indications of his future eminence as a colourist, by drawing a Madonna, which he 44. Rudolf Kingslake, A History of the Photographic Lens, Boston 1989, p. 40. John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice, 3 vols, London 1851–53; Karen Burns, ―Topographies of Tourism: ‗Documentary‘ Photography and The Stones of Venice,‖ in: Assemblage 32, 1997, p. 24. 46 Michael Wheeler and Nigel Whiteley (eds.), The Lamp of memory: Ruskin, tradition, and architecture, Manchester–New York 1992, p. 146. 47 Irwin (as note 3), p. 253. 48 As early as in 1820, the Royal Academy had regulated that artists attending the annual exhibition had to submit a note to explain their works. See ―Notice to the exhibition,‖ in: The Exhibition of the Royal Academy, London 1820, without pag. 45. 17.

(19) coloured with the juices of flowers.‖49 The text refers explicitly to Carlo Ridolfi, a painter and art writer in seventeenth-century Venice.50 As an advocate of the Venetian artists, Ridolfi wrote an art history in order to challenge Giorgio Vasari‘s (1511–1574) claim of the predominance of Florentine art. 51 Ridolfi released his Maraviglie dell’Arte (The Marvels of Art) in 1648; the book contains an extensive biography of Titian, the Vita di Tiziano Vecellio da Cadore Pittore e Cavaliere.52 The inventory of Dyce‘s library, published in 1875, some ten years after the painter‘s death, proves that he had possessed a copy of Ridolfi‘s original edition of 1648.53 In his biography on the painter, Ridolfi left following record about young Titian: ―While still a boy and prompted only by his natural, God-given ability, using the juice of some flowers, he made (fece) the figure of a Virgin inside a chapel (entro un capitello) in one of the streets of his hometown.‖54 Original sources on Titian‘s youth in his home town Pieve di Cadore (Prov.. 49. Catalog entry of The Exhibition of the Royal Academy, London 1857, here quoted after Irwin (as note 3), p. 251. 50 For Ridolfi, see the article ―Ridolfi, Carlo,‖ Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://www.oxford artonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T072059 (accessed 8 January, 2015); Cecil Gould, ―Ridolfi the Historian,‖ in: Apollo 125, n. 301, 1987, pp. 197–199. 51 Julia Conaway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella (eds.), The life of Titian by Carlo Ridolfi, University Park, Pa. 2010, pp. 11-12. For the biography of Giorgio Vasari, see Julian Kliemann, ―Vasari,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.opac.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/subscriber/article/grove/art/T088022pg1?q=Vasa ri+&search=quick&pos=2&_start=1#firsthit (accessed January 8, 2015); Robert Williams, ―Vasari, Giorgio,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.opac.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/subscriber/article/opr/t234/e0515?q=Vasari+&se arch=quick&pos=4&_start=1#firsthit (accessed 8 January, 2015); Marilyn Smith, ―Vasari, Giorgio,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.opac.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/subscriber/article/opr/t118/e2672?q=Vasari+&se arch=quick&pos=5&_start=1#firsthit (accessed 8 January, 2015) 52 Ridolfi (as note 32), p. 134. 53 Catalogue of the Library of William Dyce, ESQ. R. A., London 1875, p. 12, no. 183. 54 Quoted after Norman E. Land, ―Poetry and Anecdote Carlo Ridolfi‘s Life of Titian,‖ in: Patricia Meilman (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Titian, Cambridge 2004, p. 209. The original Italian text reads ―come quello ch‘era destinato dal Cielo a rinnovare gli stupori degli antichi secoli: onde ancor piccioletto col solo impulso della natura, fece co‘sughi di fiori, entro ad un capitello sopra ad una strada della sua Patria la figura della Vergine, già non molto tempo, per occasione di certa fabrica rovinato.‖ Carlo Ridolfi, Le Maraviglie dell’arte, overo le vite de gl’illustri pittori veneti, e dello stato, vol. 1, 2nd ed., Padua 1835, p. 197. 18.

(20) Belluno) are not preserved.55 Vasari starts his account on Titian with the painter‘s moving to Venice at the age of ten.56 As Ridolfi was born years after Titian had passed away, he must have relied on earlier texts or on hear-say. The only available source preceding Ridolfi‘s account is the anonymously published biography Breve Compendio della Vita del Famoso Titiano Vecellio of 1622.57 According to its author, Titian painted a Madonna on the wall of his house (sopra il muro della sua casa), and he used colors made from the juice of flowers, which were so beautiful that the result impressed all the people around him.58 This anecdote was used by the author to explain, why Titian, the young genius, was sent from the Cadore to Venice in order to become a great master. As we can see, Ridolfi made some modifications, replacing Titian‘s parental home by a capitello. The Venetian term ‗capitello,‘ used by Ridolfi, has often been mistaken by translators.59 It is not a capital or the part of a column, but indicates a small chapel-like building, normally erected at a crossroads or at the entrance of a village. This kind of small chapel is very common in the Veneto, and it usually contains a statue or painting of the Virgin, Christ or a saint. People would come here, and they still do today, in order to pray and bring flowers; services were held there on special holidays. In a watercolor entitled Ave Maria (Copenhagen, Thorvaldsen Museum), the Scottish painter George Augustus Wallis (1770–1847) shows some. 55. Paul Joannides, Titian to 1518. The Assumption of a Genius, New Haven–London 2001, pp. 7–17. Vasari (as note 43), vol. 5, 1852, p. 382. 57 Breve Compendio della Vita del Famoso Titiano Vecellio di Cadore Cavalliere et Pittore, Venice: Santo Grillo et Fratelli, 1622. The text has occasionally been attributed to one of Titian‘s relatives, the so-called Tizianello. Sergio Claut, ―Vecellio,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.opac.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/subscriber/article/grove/art/T088390?q=Vecellio &search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit (accessed January 8, 2015). 58 The account reads as follows: ―[…] formò sopra il muro della sua casa una Imagine di nostra Donna col succo di fiori, di cosìben appropiati colori, che rende stupore al padre, a parenti, et a gli amici.‖ Breve Compendio (as note 57), without pag. 59 The Bondanellas translate the term ‗capitello‘ as a column; Bondanella (as note 51), p. 58. Lindsay Errington considers it as ―a block of stone from a ruined building.‖ Errington (as note 13), p. 495. 56. 19.

(21) people approaching a capitello and kneeling before a Madonna figure (Fig. 9).60 In comparison with Ridolfi‘s literary account, Dyce made apparent modifications, replacing the capitello with the Madonna statue on a tree stump. He also describes differently, what Titian is doing. Ridolfi emphasizes Titian showing his artistic talents for colors. In Dyce‘s painting, however, Titian is neither creating nor finishing his work. He is just looking at the statue and reflecting on it. Furthermore, the title of the painting indicates that it is a study for colors, yet Titian‘s subject matter is a monochrome Madonna statue. The boy, consequently, has a porte-crayon for drawing in his hand. Although Ridolfi undoubtedly wanted to say with ―fece co‘ sughi di fiori‖ that Titian made a wall painting, the verb ‗fece,‘ ―he has made,‖ leaves the technique open. It can mean to paint, to draw or to form a sculpture. The considerable gap between Dyce‘s description and Ridolfi‘s anecdote is a key factor to understand the significance of the painting.. 5. Dyce and Ridolfi’s Maraviglie dell’Arte Before continuing with the interpretation of Titian’s First Essay, two problems have to be considered. First, Ridolfi‘s Maraviglie dell’Arte had not been translated into English in the nineteenth century. It must be examined, if Dyce knew enough Italian to understand Ridolfi‘s text or if he had advisers, who helped him to comprehend the account of the anecdote. Second, we have to explore the intentions behind Dyce‘s adaption of Ridolfi‘s biography.. 60. Jonathan Buckley, The rough guide to Venice and the Veneto, London 2004, p. 52; Robert C. Davis and Garry R. Marvin, Venice, the tourist maze: a cultural critique of the world’s most touristed city, Berkeley 2004, p. 326. 20.

(22) 5.1. Dyce’s Experience with Italy As early as in the eighteenth century, the Grand Tour had been a suitable way for upper-class young men to broaden their horizon. Italy was the most popular destination thanks to its inexhaustible abundance of art historical treasures and beautiful sites.61 Dyce had visited Italy for four times in 1825, 1827, 1832, and 1845. Although neither his letters nor his writings can provide certain evidence that he was able to read Italian texts and understand the spoken language, his experiences in Italy might provide a solution to this issue. He stayed in Italy for quite long periods, which normally lasted several months.62 These sojourns enlarged his knowledge of the country‘s culture, and his language skill might also be able to reach the level to communicate with local people. Furthermore, after returning from Italy in 1832, he had planned to launch his career in Rome, where he intended to carry out a scheme to paint a series of works based on the life of the Virgin. It is difficult to believe that an artist would start his business in a foreign country without any capacity of knowing and speaking the local language. However, in the end, his plan failed, because he was dissuaded from practicing in Rome by a friend, Nicholas Wiseman (1802–1865), cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the Rector of the English College in Rome.63 Wiseman believed that Dyce, as a High-church painter, would not have been capable of satisfying Roman Catholic clients and afterwards unable to obtain any commissions in. 61. Jeremy Black, Italy and the Grand Tour, New Haven–London 2003, pp. 2-3. His first trip to Rome, started in autumn 1825, took nine months. In autumn 1827, he set off to Italy again, and it was only in 1829 that he was back to Aberdeen. In 1832, he spent at least three months visiting Southern France, Venice and Mantua. The last journey to Italy was from October 1845 to March 1846, and he stopped in Pisa, Rome, Siena, and Florence for the fresco business of the Royal Commission. Pointon (as note 6), pp. 7, 12, 15, 25; Irwin (as note 6), pp. 255-256; Carter (as note 6), pp. 5-7. 63 Pointon (as note 6), p. 33; ―Wiseman, Nicholas,‖ in: Britannica Online Traditional Chinese Edition at http://0-daying.wordpedia.com.opac.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/Content.aspx?id=114426&sword=Nicholas+ Wiseman (accessed January 8, 2015). 62. 21.

(23) Rome.64 Dyce followed Wiseman‘s suggestion and gave up his plan. What is more, Dyce‘s impressive collection of books offers a clue to his possible reading skills in foreign languages, especially in Italian. He owned Italian literature stemming from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, and most of the books were works on art and architecture. Dyce owned nearly all the important Italian texts on art history, such as Vasari‘s Vite de’ piu eccellenti Pittori, Scultori, e Architettori (Florence 1568), Marco Boschini‘s Carta de Navegar Pitoresco (Venice 1655), Carlo Ridolfi‘s Maraviglie dell’Arte, which has already been mentioned above, and a new edition of Cennino Cennini‘s Libro dell’arte, published in 1821.65 His collection of books not only shows his enthusiasm for Italian Renaissance art and culture, and implies that Dyce must have had a sufficient, if not excellent command of Italian, which allowed him to understand Ridolfi‘s writing.. 5.2. Dyce and Charles Lock Eastlake Although it is most plausible that Dyce was able to read Italian, it is not sure whether he understood the content of Ridolfi‘s text. One of his close friends, the painter and scholar Charles Lock Eastlake (1793–1865), who is well-known as the first director of the National Gallery in London, might have acted as Dyce‘s advisor in matters of art history. Eastlake mastered the Italian language quite well and he was very familiar with the country‘s culture. He had stayed in Italy from 1816 to 1830 and was leading head of the English colony in Rome.66 His genre painting A Peasant Woman Fainting from the Bite of a Serpent of 1832 (London, Victoria and Albert Museum; Fig. 10) was. 64. Vaughan (as note 9), pp. 229-230. Catalogue of the Library of William Dyce (as note 53), pp. 11-12, 14, and 49. 66 David Robertson, Sir Charles Eastlake and the Victorian art world, Princeton, N.J. 1978, pp. 2, 8, and 11-12. 65. 22.

(24) based on an experience in Rome. Eastlake noted on the back of the canvas: ―Nina Ranieri, a young peasant woman of the Roman State, while kneeling before a chapel of the Madonna, was bit by a viper: she sank into a lethargy in a short time, and it is said, died two days after.‖67 Besides, Eastlake depicts a capitello with the figure of Christ in it on the left-hand side of the background. Eastlake was a great art scholar. He had once participated in the publication of Franz Kugler‘s influential writing. The German art historian Franz Kugler (1808–1858) was the leading figure of the Berlin School of art history; his Handbook of the History of Painting is his representative work.68 Eastlake was responsible for editing its first volume, entitled The Italian School of Painting, a work, which established his reputation. 69 Eastlake‘s special field was Renaissance art, and he was a great connoisseur of Titian‘s art. Hence, he was well aware how important Ridolfi‘s Maraviglie dell’Arte were for the research on Titian.70 Friendship between Dyce and Eastlake began in 1837. At that time, Eastlake was one of the committee members, who had to supervise the foundation of the School of Design. When Dyce was appointed to investigate the education of design in the Continent for the School of Design, Eastlake was assigned to be his advisor to plan the journey.71 As a result of this opportunity, they became friends and remained connected in their work.. 67. Quoted after Robertson (as note 66), p. 42. Franz Kugler, A hand-book of the history of painting: from the age of Constantine the great to the present time. Part I. The Italian schools of painting, London 1842; Udo Kultermann, The History of Art History, New York 1993, pp. 89-91. 69 ―A Handbook to the Public Galleries of Art in and near London,‖ in: The Literary Gazette: A weekly journal of literature, science, and the fine arts 1309, 1842, p. 124; ―A Hand-book of the History of Painting,‖ in: The Examiner 1776, 1842, p. 99. 70 Eastlake showed an ample knowledge of Titian and Ridolfi in the works he wrote and edited. See Charles Lock Eastlake, Materials for a history of oil painting, London 1847, pp. 11, 37, 195, 212, 404, and 495; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Goethe’s theory of colours, London 1840, pp. 360, 370-1, 406-7 and 422; Kugler (as note 68), pp. 359-60, 363, and 370. 71 Robertson (as note 66), p. 49. 68. 23.

(25) Eastlake introduced Dyce to Prince Albert; he thus gained the commission to decorate the staircase at Osborne House, and he discussed with Eastlake his ideas for this work.72 Moreover, while Dyce was responsible of The Baptism of King Ethelbert, a fresco at the Palace of Westminster, Eastlake was the Secretary of the Royal Commission on the Fine Arts. Hence, Dyce sometimes would ask the personal favor of Eastlake. In 1845, the Royal Commission asked Dyce to hand in a fresco sketch for the exhibition in May, but Dyce was sick and unable to submit on time. Therefore, he wrote to Eastlake, asking him for a postponement of the deadline, which was subsequently granted.73 Still more important is the fact that, at the time when Dyce was preparing Titian’s First Essay, Eastlake was engaged with a research project on Titian. This finally led to an English edition of a selection of Titian‘s manuscript letters in 1857.74 The experiences William Dyce had made in Italy provide the basis for our understanding of his painting Titian’s First Essay (Fig. 1). As we have seen, Carlo Ridolfi‘s text presents the point of departure for the picture‘s iconography. His interpretation of the young genius‘s figure, however, shows a considerable independence from the literary model. Even if we suppose that Dyce had to face problems in his understanding this source, he could have found support from his entourage, and especially from his friend Charles Lock Eastlake, a proven specialist concerning the Italian Renaissance art, who had some experience in dealing with the original sources. It is not likely that the discrepancy between Titian’s First Essay and Ridolfi‘s text is owed to a misunderstanding of the source. The reinterpretation of Dyce is out of his thorough consideration.. 72. Pointon (as note 6), pp. 84, 93. Pointon (as note 6), p. 89. 74 Charles Lock Eastlake, ―Letters by Titian, Reflecting from Pictures Completed by him at the Age of Ninety-one,‖ in: Miscellanies of the Philobiblon Society 4, London 1857–58, pp. 3-28. 73. 24.

(26) 6. The Exploration of Renaissance in Nineteenth Century Since the final two decades of the eighteenth century, the new passion of Romantic artists for visualizing anecdotes of old masters arose. This interest in old masters germinated in Great Britain in the late eighteenth century. It subsequently arrived at the Continent and blossomed in France from the 1830s to the 1850s. When, as a result of the emerging Realism, Romantic history painting lost its predominant position in European art, the trend of representing old masters came gradually to an end in the second half of the nineteenth century.75 Among the numerous and manifold pictures rendering anecdotes of old masters, the Italian Renaissance—Masaccio, Filippo Lippi, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian—offered the best suggestions to later artists.76 This trend was deeply connected with the exploration and studies on the age of Renaissance. Since the second half of the eighteenth century, there was a growing interest in the history, art and culture of the Italian Renaissance. French and English writers in the first place offered broader and more comprehensive perspectives on the Renaissance.77 In the mid-nineteenth century, Jules Michelet‘s (1798–1874) Histoire de France, Renaissance in 185578 and Edgar Quinet‘s (1803–1875) Les Révolutions. 75. Werner Hofmann, Art in the Nineteenth Century, London 1961, p. 236; Francis Haskell, ―The Old Masters in Nineteenth-Century French Painting,‖ in Art Quarterly 34, 1971, p. 58; William Vaughan, Romantic Art, London 1978, pp. 55, and 66-68; William Vaughan, ―Romanticism,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.opac.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/subscriber/article/grove/art/T073207?q=Romant icism&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit (accessed January 8, 2015); David Blayney Brown, Romanticism, London–New York 2001, p. 19. 76 Hofmann (as note 75), p. 236; Haskell (as note 75), pp. 55, 57, 63, and 66-67; Robert Rosenblum, Transformations in Late Eighteenth Century Art, Princeton 1967, pp. 34-36. 77 J. B. Bullen, The Myth of the Renaissance in Nineteenth-Century Writing, New York 1994, pp. 1, 11, 17-26, and 38-58; John Hale, England and the Italian Renaissance: the growth of interest in its history and art, 4th rev. ed. Malden 2005, pp. 24-39; Wallace Klippert Ferguson, The Renaissance in Historical Thought: Five Centuries of Interpretation, 2nd rev. ed. Toronto 2006, pp. 78-112; Udo Kultermann, The History of Art History, New York 1993, p. 28, 34. 78 Jules Michelet, Histoire de France, Renaissance, Paris 1855. See introduction of Jules Michelet in: Ceri Crossley, ―Michelet, Jules,‖ in: Christopher John Murray (ed.), Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760–1850, New York 2004, pp. 737-739. 25.

(27) d’Italie in 1848, 79 as well as Jacob Burckhardt‘s (1818–1897) Die Cultur der Renaissance in Italien: ein Versuch in 1860 80 generated a clearer picture of the Renaissance era.81 Thanks to the reception of the Italian Renaissance, a considerable number of writings, art historical texts, biographies, novels, short stories and poetry in the first half of the nineteenth century, treated the life and work of the artists in the Quattroand Cinquecento, which were even more than the eighteenth century. 82 Giorgio Vasari‘s Vite de’ piu eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori were republished in various editions, including translations into other languages. Since its first appearance in the mid-sixteenth century, this milestone of art history had always been present in the cultural memory and was still printed in the following three centuries.83 Between 1800 and 1850, no less than ten editions of Vasari‘s masterpiece had been published, that is more than during the two centuries before. Among several editions of the Vite two were published in French, whereas the other two are translations into German and English.84 These versions provided an access to the Vite for those readers who did not know Italian. The republication of the Vite accelerated 79. Edgar Quinet, Les Révolutions d’Italie, Paris 1848. See introduction of Edgar Quinet in: John B. Roney, ―Quinet, Edgar,‖ in: Daniel. R. Woolf, A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing, vol. 2, New York–London 1998, pp. 754-755. (2vols.) 80 Jacob Burckhardt, Die Cultur der Renaissance in Italien: ein Versuch, Basel 1860. See introduction of Jacob Burckhardt in: Kultermann (as note 3), pp. 95-102. 81 Bullen (as note 77), pp. 156-182; Hale (as note 77), p. 110; Ferguson (as note 77), pp. 173-194; Kultermann (as note 77), pp. 95-98. 82 Haskell (as note 75), pp. 78-79. 83 Giorgio Vasari, Vite de’ piu eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori, Florence 1550 ( 2nd rev. ed. Florence 1568). 84 Vies des peintres, sculpteurs et architectes les plus célèbres, translated into French by Charles Claude Lebas de Courmont, Paris 1803–06; Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architetti. Illustr. con note, 16 vols, Milan 1807–11; Opere di Giorgio Vasari: pittore e architetto Aretino, 6 vols, Florence 1822–23; Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architetti, Venice 1828–30; Opere di Giorgio Vasari pittore, Milan 1829; Le opere di Giorgio Vasari: pittore e architetto Aretino, 2 vols, Florence 1832–38; Leben der ausgezeichnetsten Maler, Bildhauer und Baumeister von Cimabue bis zum Jahre, 1567: Aus dem Italienischen, Ludwig Schorn (ed.), 6 vols, Stuttgart 1832–49; Vies des peintres, sculpteurs et architects, translated into French by Léopold Leclanché and commented by Philippe Auguste Jeanron with Leclanché, Paris 1839–42; Alcune vite di pittori, Parma 1842; Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori ed architetti, annotated by Ferdinando Ranalli, 2 vols, Florence 1845–1848; Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architetti, 14 vols, Florence 1846–70; Lives of the most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, translated by Jonathan Foster, 5 vols, London 1850–52. 26.

(28) the absorption of Renaissance art and spread the influence of the era in nineteenth century. They leaded people to realize that it was a great stage for the illustrious old masters to self-realize their ambitions and won the transcendent status in history. As Francis Haskell has shown for the first time, the nineteenth century fathered a considerable number of fiction as well as nonfiction texts about major Italian Renaissance masters, and Vasari‘s Vite served as a convincing source for the writers to know the artists‘ biographies. Moreover, Carlo Ridolfi‘s Le Maraviglie dell’arte, an important work focusing on Venetian artists, was released again in 1835.85 As of the second decade of the century, the great Venetian master Titian was in the focus. Five monographs on Titian‘s life and work, based on the books of Vasari and Ridolfi, including two in English language, are to be mentioned: the Vite dei pittori Vecelli di Cadore Libri Quattro of 1817 by the Italian historian Stefano Ticozzi (1762–1836), Osservazioni relative alla vita ed all'arte di Tiziano of 1821 by Giovanni Prosdocimo Zabeo (1753–1828), Notice of the Life and Works of Titian by the British collector and writer Abraham Hume (1749–1838), published in 1829, The Life of Titian with Anecdotes of the Distinguished Persons of His Time of 1830 by the British painter and writer James Northcote (1746–1831), and Federigo Wlten‘s Della vita, delle opere e del mausoleo di Tiziano Vecelli of 1852.86 The master also appeared in the novels Le. 85. Haskell (as note 75), p. 79. Stefano Ticozzi, Vite dei pittori Vecelli di Cadore libri quattro, Milan 1817. See biography of Stefano Ticozzi in: Franco Bernabei, ―Ticozzi, Stefano,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.opac.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/subscriber/article/grove/art/T084935?q=Stefano +Ticozzi&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit (accessed January 8, 2015); Giovanni Prosdocimo Zabeo, Osservazioni relative alla vita ed all’arte di Tiziano, Padova 1821; Abraham Hume, Notice of the Life and Works of Titian, London 1829. See biography of Abraham Hume in: Francis Russell, ―Hume, Sir Abraham, 2nd Baronet,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.opac.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/subscriber/article/grove/art/T039419?q=Abraha m+Hume&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit (accessed January 8, 2015) ; James Northcote, The Life of Titian with Anecdotes of the Distinguishied Person of His Time, London 1830. See biography of James Northcote in: John Wilson, ―Northcote, James,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.opac.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/subscriber/article/grove/art/T062779?q=James+ Northcote&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit (accessed January 8, 2015), and Federigo Wlten, Della vita, delle opere e del mausoleo di Tiziano Vecelli, Venice 1852. 86. 27.

(29) Fils du Titien about his wayward son Pomponio (―Pippo‖) by the French Romanticist Alfred de Musset (1810–57) in 1838 and in Titian: a Romance of Venice by the Irish author Robert Shelton Mackenzie (1809–80) in 1843. Both these fictional texts are roughly based on the historical facts.87 The writings of Vasari and Ridofi provided the abundant materials for nineteenth-century artists to know the anecdotes of the Venetian Renaissance master, and a large quantity of nineteenth-century studies on Renaissance history and culture offered a reachable path to imagining the background of the great predecessor. The nineteenth-century painters were, of course, free to transform what they found in the texts into pictorial art history, and every artist had different intentions, when he invited viewers into the private cabinets of the Renaissance master. Before I come to the main issue of this thesis, the analysis of Titian’s First Essay by William Dyce, it seems necessary to consider a series of paintings displaying key moments of Titian‘s life, in order to trace the outlines of the artistic reception of the master‘s biography in the nineteenth century.. 7. Titian as Subject in Nineteenth-Century Painting As Dyce prepared his creation of Titian’s First Essay, contemporary painters also presented their pictorial art historical fictions, which mix imaginations and painters‘ interpretations of Titian‘s anecdotes and biographies. By means of their representation, the life of the old Venetian painter is put on the stage for viewers.. 87. Haskell (as note 75), p. 79; Caroline Campbell, ―Titian in Nineteenth-Century British Fiction,‖ in: Peter Humfrey (ed.), The Reception of Titian in Britain: from Reynolds to Ruskin, Turnhout 2013, pp. 153-155. Titian is not the only great painter, who was present in the nineteenth-century literature. Nicolas Poussin and Franz Pourbus the Younger, for example, appear in Honoré de Balzac‘s short story Le chef-d’œuvre inconnu, which was first published in the newspaper L’Artiste in August 1831, and Leonardo da Vinci in Villa Verocchio, or, the youth of Leonardo da Vinci by Diana Louisa Macdonald in 1850. In addition to the tales by Musset and Mackenzie, Titian also took a role in the novel Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (alias Mary Ann Evans), published in 1876. 28.

(30) 7.1. Titian and Rulers Titian achieved international fame and worked for eminent patrons throughout Europe. In order to glory the accomplishment of Titian, nineteenth-century painters represented the interaction between the Venetian master and his royal patrons. They referred to Pliny the Elder‘s account of Alexander the Great paying a visit to Apelles‘s studio, while the artist was portraying the king‘s mistress Campaspe.88 At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the French artist Pierre-Nolasque Bergeret (1782–1863) concentrated on Titian at work as a portrait painter of European rulers, François I Posing for Titian (1807; Fig. 11).89 Old Titian and the French king François I (r. 1515–1547) are facing each other at his studio, while the painter is executing the king‘s portrait. The majestic client François I, King of France, standing on the other side of Titian is depicted facing right. He puts the hands around the waist displaying a mighty posture.90 A servant appears unobtrusively at the background to look on the studio. Bergeret borrowed the figures of Titian and François I from Titian‘s self-portrait in Madrid (Fig. 12) on the one hand and the Louvre portrait of the French king (Fig. 13) on the other.91 The painter might have seen Titian‘s portrait of François I at the Musée. 88. Pliny the elder, and translated by John Bostock and H. T. Riley, The Natural History, vol. 6, London 1857, pp. 258-259; Janet Cox-Rearick, ―Imagining the Renaissance: The Nineteenth-Century Cult of François I as Patron,‖ in: Renaissance Quarterly 50, 1997, p. 236; Andrew N. Sherwood, ―Apelles,‖ in: Nigel Wilson (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, New York 2006, pp. 62-63; Susan B. Matheson, ―Apelles,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T003416?q=Apelles&search=quick&pos=1 &_start=1#firsthit (accessed January 8, 2015). 89 On Bergeret, see Lucrecia N. El-Abd, Pierre-Nolasque Bergeret (1782–1863), Ph.D. thesis, Columbia University 1976; a shorter article by Simon Lee, ―Bergeret, Pierre-Nolasque,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T008089?q=Bergeret%2C+Pierre-Nolasque &search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit (accessed January 8, 2015). 90 On the French king François I, see Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, 4th rev. ed., Chicago 2006, p. 702. 91 Harold Edwin Wethey, The Paintings of Titian, vol. II: The Portraits, London 1971, pp. 101-102. According to Wethey, Titian had made two portraits for François I, which were both painted in the same year, 1539. The earlier one is at the Musée du Louvre, which was the prototype of the one collected by Maurice Clément de Coppet in Geneva. 29.

(31) du Louvre, which aroused wide admiration when it was exhibited in 1804.92 Therefore, François I Posing for Titian is constituted entirely by Bergeret‘s imagination, and he could appropriate an anecdote from Ridolfi, who claimed Titian had received Henry III, King of France, at his studio in 1574.93 Bergeret ignored a logic problem on purpose that when Titian prepared portrait of François I in 1539, he was in the prime of life rather than an aged man of the self-portrait made in 1565-1570. In François I Posing for Titian, the two profile portraits by Titian were combined together cleverly that Titian and François I dominates each sides of the picture respectively. Owing to the strong nationalism in Napoléon‘s regime, Bergeret attempted to enhance the impression of François I as the cultured patron. He also expressed his respect to the old Venetian master, who demonstrates the gifted artistic talent to equal the political power. Ridolfi‘s biography of Titian provided an intriguing interlude between Titian and the Emperor Charles V (r. 1530–1556) for nineteenth-century painters to exert.94 Ridolfi recorded an interlude between Titian and Charles V. Ridolfi stated ―And there for the third time he did a portrait of the Emperor in his old age, with his burnished armor, decorated with golden engravings, as we can see from copies. And it is told of Titian that while he was painting the portrait, he dropped a brush, which the Emperor picked up, and bowing low, Titian declared: ‗Sire, one of your servants does not 92. Cox-Rearick (as note 88), p. 235. Titian‘s portrait of François I was commissioned by the Tuscan writer Pietro Aretino (1492–1556) as a gift for the King. See Luba Freedman, Titian’s Portraits through Aretino's Lens, University Park, Pa. 1995, p. 4. According to El-Abd, Bergeret could have been familiar with the fact that Titian had never met the King in reality; El-Abd (as note 89), pp. 201-202. The portrait of François I was the master borrowing a profile of François I from the obverse of a bronze medal by Benvenuto Cellini (1500–1571) executed in 1537; Wethey (as note 91), p. 102; Cox-Rearick (as note 88), pp. 235-236; Fletcher (as note 92), p. 36; Lisa Jardine and Jerry Brotton, Global Interests: Renaissance art between East and West, London 2000, pp. 48-49. 93 Bondanella (as note 51), p. 135; Charles Hope, ―Titian as a Court Painter,‖ in: Oxford Art Journal 2, 1979, p. 7. According to Hope, Ridolfi‘s record is not correct that Henry III did not come to Titian‘s workshop in Venice. 94 See biography of Charles V in: William Eisler, ―Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Burgundy and Brabant,‖ in: Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online: http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.opac.lib.ntnu.edu.tw/subscriber/article/grove/art/T035906pg2#T0359 23 (accessed January 8, 2015). 30.