Portrait of a Lady
c. 1530/60
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
63.5 × 51.8 cm (25 × 20 5/16 in.); Framed: 85.1 × 76.2 × 6.4 cm (33 1/2 × 30 × 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
110872
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Created around 1530–1560, Titian’s *Portrait of a Lady* offers a captivating glimpse into the refined world of Renaissance Venice. As one of the most celebrated artists of his time, Titian helped shape the Venetian school’s emphasis on rich color and luminous effects. This intimate oil-on-canvas work, now in the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection of European paintings, exemplifies the period’s growing interest in individualized portraiture among the educated elite. Titian’s masterful handling of oil paint allowed him to achieve subtle gradations of tone and a lifelike warmth in skin and fa...
About the Artist
Titian · 1483–1576
Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488-1576), known as Titian, was the greatest painter of the 16th-century Venetian school and one of the most influential artists in Western art history. Born in Pieve di Cadore in the Venetian Republic, Titian revolutionized painting through his innovative use of color, expressive brushwork, and mastery of oil technique. Trained in Giovanni Bellini's workshop alongside Giorgi...