Venus and Musician facts for kids

Venus and Musician is the name for a group of famous paintings by the Italian artist Titian. He was a very important painter during the Renaissance period in Venice.

Titian and his art studio made many different versions of Venus and Musician. These paintings are sometimes called by other names, like Venus with an Organist or Venus with a Lute-player. Most versions show a man playing a small organ on the left side. In others, he plays a lute. Venus, a goddess, is shown resting on pillows. She often has a small friend with her, either a Cupid (a little angel-like figure) or a dog. One painting even has both! These artworks were likely created starting in the late 1540s.

Titian's workshop made many of the later versions. It's not always clear how much Titian himself painted in these later works. All the Venus and Musician paintings are made with oil paints on canvas. They come in two main sizes and shapes.

Five versions are believed to be mostly painted by Titian himself. Two of these, with an organ player, are in Madrid. Another is in Berlin. The versions with a lute player are in Cambridge and New York. There's also a painting in the Uffizi gallery in Florence. It's not as highly praised and doesn't have a musician. Instead, it shows a Cupid and a dog looking at a bird.

In all the paintings, Venus's bed seems to be in a loggia (a covered outdoor hallway) or in front of a large open window. There's a low stone wall or parapet outside. Venus is shown lying down, stretched out on pillows. The musician sits at the end of the bed with his back to her. But he turns his head to look at her. Venus, however, looks away to the right. The musician wears clothes from the 1500s, just like any small people in the background. He also has a sword or dagger on his belt. A large red curtain hangs in the top left corner. In the narrower paintings, it's in the top right corner. Outside, there's a wide landscape. Some paintings show tree-lined paths and a fountain, like a palace garden. Other versions have open fields leading to distant mountains.

What Do the Paintings Mean?

Some people think these paintings have a deeper meaning. For example, in the two paintings in Madrid, the organ players seem to be still playing music. But in the Berlin painting, the organ player has stopped playing to look at Venus. Art expert Erwin Panofsky thought this meant that seeing (sight) was more important than hearing (sound). However, some organ experts have said the organs in the paintings don't look quite right.

The lute players in the paintings can turn their instruments while looking at Venus. They both seem to keep playing. Panofsky suggested this means the musician is honoring Venus's beauty through his music. He said it's hard to play an organ and admire someone at the same time. But it's easy to play a lute and serenade someone while looking at them.

In the 20th century, some art experts tried to explain these paintings using ideas from Renaissance Neoplatonism. This was a way of thinking that connected earthly beauty to divine beauty. Some thought the paintings showed how a person could look at Venus and be inspired by her beauty. They believed the musician turning his head showed a special way of seeing beauty.

However, not everyone agreed. Some experts, like Ulrich Middeldorf, thought these paintings were more like "ornamental furniture" for rooms, perhaps bedrooms. He felt they were beautiful but not meant to be deep philosophical artworks. He also pointed out that Titian made so many copies, which suggested they were popular decorations rather than unique, deep statements.

The Two Paintings in Madrid

The earliest record of a Venus and Musician painting is one with an organist. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor ordered it when Titian was in Augsburg in 1548. The emperor then gave it to his minister, Cardinal Granvelle. We don't know for sure which painting this was. Both versions in the Museo del Prado in Madrid have been suggested.

One of these is Venus with an Organist and Dog (Prado 420). It's the wider of the two. The Prado museum now believes this painting was made around 1550. This means it probably isn't the original one given to Cardinal Granvelle. This painting shows a dog and no Cupid. Even without Cupid, it's always been seen as showing the goddess Venus. Some think this painting might celebrate a marriage because the woman wears a wedding ring. Also, both figures in this painting look like real people, not just ideal figures.

X-rays show that Titian changed this painting as he worked on it. At first, Venus looked directly at the musician. This might have been too bold for the time. So, Titian changed Venus's head to look away. He also added the dog for her to look at and touch. This made Venus seem more calm.

This painting once belonged to a lawyer named Francesco Assonica, who was a friend of Titian. It stayed in Venice until the 1620s. Later, Charles I of England bought it. After Charles I was executed, Colonel John Hutchinson bought it. Then, David Teniers the Younger bought it for the Spanish royal family. It has been in the Prado museum ever since. Many copies of this painting were made while it was in England.

The Prado's other version is Venus with an Organist and Cupid (Prado 421). It has a Cupid instead of a dog and is signed "TITIANUS F." (Titian made it). Some thought it was painted around 1547-1548, but the museum now dates it to about 1555. Recent studies show that this painting was traced from the other Prado version. Titian and his studio often used tracing to make copies of their main artworks.

This version was also once thought to be the one Charles V gave to Granvelle. It has been in the Spanish royal collection since at least 1626. Some believed the organist in this painting looked like Philip II of Spain, but this is not a common idea today.

Paintings with a Lute Player

The two main versions of Venus and Cupid with a Lute-player are very similar. The one in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge was painted earlier, between 1555 and 1565. It is believed to be entirely by Titian. This painting was likely owned by Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. It was later stolen by the Swedes in 1648. After many years and different owners, it was bought by Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam in 1798. His collection later started the Fitzwilliam Museum.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a version called Venus and the Lute Player. They date it to about 1565–1570 and say it was made by Titian and his workshop. This painting was traced from the Cambridge version. Titian's studio might have kept a copy or drawing to make more versions. Parts of this painting, like the landscape, seem to be painted in Titian's later, freer style. Other parts might have been finished by his workshop after he died in 1576.

The New York painting belonged to the royal family of Savoy for many years. It later came to England and was owned by Thomas Coke. It was sold to the museum in 1933. This painting was once known as the Holkham Venus.

Other versions with a lute player exist, possibly from Titian's workshop. One is in Bordeaux, and another was destroyed during World War II in Dresden.

See also

• List of works by Titian