The Renaissance was more than a "re-birth," it was something new and exciting - the ideas and outlooks represented by Titian and the leading lights of his time have continued to shape Western Civilization and the world, helping to create a culture in which we are all - "open-minded and free to take up quarters in an open world."
Meyer-Abich)
It is for these reasons and others that Venus and Adonis is the subject of this paper. Titian's captivating painting style, mastery of technique, color, and movement, instantly attract the viewer to the artwork. The subject matter, too, is appealing and compelling. As it did centuries ago, it does today - it tells a story and imparts a lesson. Yet, Titian's work can be instructive eon a thousand different levels. The master's art speaks to the motions, and makes each of us think about what is happening on the canvas; what it means to each of us members of a society, and as individuals. We each react to it in a different way. The story told in Venus and Adonis is a powerful one, timeless in its message; inspiring and also terrifying. We all hope we never find ourselves in such a situation...
only differently, that we might stay in the arms of Venus and live.
Works Cited
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Cole, Bruce. Titian and Venetian Painting, 1450-1590. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999.
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Elkins, James. What Painting Is: How to Think about Oil Painting, Using the Language of Alchemy. New York: Routledge, 2000.
From the Tour: Titian and the Late Renaissance in Venice." The Collection, National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2006. URL: http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg23/gg23-1226.0.html.
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Meyer-Abich, Klaus Michael. "Humans in Nature: Toward a Physiocentric Philosophy." Daedalus 125.3 (1996): 213+.
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Miles, Geoffrey, ed. Classical Mythology in English Literature: A Critical Anthology. London: Routledge, 1999.
