Titian Room • North Wall

Home , Bonifazio Veronese, Crucifixion (Titian), Paris Bordone, Titian

TITIAN ROOM • NORTH WALL

The grandest of all the galleries in the museum, this room captures Isabella 301 Gardner’s love of Venice, where she spent many summers. Titian’s Europa dominates the room, and most of the other works exhibited here are associated in some way with this painting. Mrs. Gardner bought Europa in 1896 (for a world-record price) and, when it arrived in Boston, she excitedly wrote: “I am drinking myself drunk with Europa and then sitting for hours . . . thinking and dreaming about her. Every inch of paint in the picture seems full of joy.”

Glass Cabinet Circle of Giovanni Bellini (possibly Vincenzo Catena, Italian, about 1480– 29 This cabinet displays glass objects, mostly 1531) drinking vessels, which show a range of decorative techniques. Highlights include: Christ Carrying the Cross, about 1505–10 On top shelf: A large Venetian glass bowl, with red, white and blue dots, from Oil on wood about 1525. The painting shows a close-up view of Christ 2nd shelf: An English lead glass candle- carrying the cross to his crucifixion. This stick from about 1700 (The painted type of excerpt from a large narrative scene decoration is a latter addition.) was an innovation of the late 1400s that en- 3rd shelf: Two lavender-colored cameo couraged viewers to focus on the emotion of glass vases in the French Art Nouveau Christ, and such carefully painted details as style, late 19th century, made by Emile the grain of the wooden cross. Gallé In several places in the museum, Isabella Bottom shelf: A green, spherical, Greco- Gardner placed paintings on small tables as Roman jug with bronze rings and han- if visitors could sit and examine them closely dle, made in the 1st or 2nd century. (we don’t know if they were ever able to do so). When available, fresh flowers are placed in the silver vase here, following a tradition begun by Mrs. Gardner.

This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. TITIAN ROOM • NORTH WALL

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1. Frame. Italian, late 15th century. 10. Side Chair. Dutch, 19th century. Inside is an Iranian velvet, about 1600 Wood, with paint and inlay [photographic reproduction] 11. Christ Carrying the Cross, about 2. Vase. Italian, 19th century. Glass 1505–10. Circle of Giovanni Bellini 29 (possibly Vincenzo Catena, Italian, 3. Cabinet. Italian, late 18th century. about 1480–1531). Oil on wood Painted and gilded wood 12. Cup. Norwegian, 17th century. 4. The Continence of Scipio, about Silver 1550. Studio of Bonifazio Veronese (Italian, 1487–1553). Oil on canvas 13. Portrait of a Venetian Senator. 5. Velvet Curtain bearing shield of a Italian, 18th century. Marble. Behind the sculpture is an 18th-century Italian marquis. Italian, about 1750. Silk, with embroidered insignia on a modern metallic yarns textile. 6. Processional Glaive (sword). Italian, 14. Cabinet. Italian, 19th century. about 1605. Steel blade Satinwood and mahogany. Inside are 7. Side Chair. Italian, 19th century. decanters, glasses, vases, bowls, glass Painted wood, with marble inlay boxes, et al. 8. Side Chairs (six in this room). 15. Stools. Italian, 18th century. Italian, early 19th century. Mahogany Walnut. With embroidered covers, 9. Frame. Italian, about 1500. Inside is French, about 1700. Linen, with silk an Italian or Spanish silk velvet, about and wool 1625–50. TITIAN ROOM • EAST WALL

The grandest of all the galleries in the museum, this room captures Isabella Gardner’s 301 love of Venice, where she spent many summers. Titian’s Europa dominates the room, and most of the other works exhibited here are associated in some way with this painting. Mrs. Gardner bought Europa in 1896 (for a world-record price) and, when it arrived in Boston, she excitedly wrote: “I am drinking myself drunk with Europa and then sitting for hours . . . thinking and dreaming about her. Every inch of paint in the picture seems full of joy.”

Mrs. Gardner’s arrangements The eclectic and highly personal grouping of objects surrounding Europa reflects Isabella Gardner’s bold and imaginative approach to installation. Below the painting Gardner placed a textile, her favorite ball gown from Worth of Paris, framed by two Venetian end tables. On the left table, an Italian bronze cupid lying on its side echoes the painted cupids above, and the design on the enamel platter suggests splashing water. What other connections can you find?

Titian Benvenuto Cellini 28 Italian, about 1488–1576 Italian, 1500–1571 30 Europa, 1560–62 Portrait of Bindo Altoviti, 1549 Oil on canvas Bronze Determined to entice the beautiful princess Europa, Bindo Altoviti (1491–1557) was a prominent the god Jupiter transformed himself into a white banker and art collector. An opponent of bull. Drawn to this seemingly gentle beast, Europa the Medici family, which had ruled Flor- climbed on his back. Immediately, the bull took off ence for generations, Altoviti spent much across the sea, leaving Europa’s companions on the of his life in Rome where he became a distant shore. According to legend, the offspring of wealthy banker to the popes. He eventually Jupiter and Europa founded the continent of Europe, launched an unsuccessful revolt against the and so this story of abduction may also be inter- Medici. preted as leading to the creation of European civili- The sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto zation. Cellini worked principally in Florence, but Titian used rich brushwork to depict clouds, sea, also in Rome and Paris. The bust is one of and mountains, as well as Europa’s luscious body. only two over life-sized portrait busts made This painting belongs to a set of six made for Philip by Cellini, and was praised by Michelan- II of Spain. These paintings of mythological love af- gelo, who felt it was the equal of celebrated fairs, called poesies, or poetic pictures, were created ancient Greek and Roman works. to delight the viewer with erotic and overlapping meanings.

This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. TITIAN ROOM • EAST WALL

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1. Europa, about 1560–62. Titian 11. Europa. Flemish, 17th century. 28 (Italian, about 1488–1576). Oil on canvas Pencil and watercolor

2. Fabric from Isabella Stewart 12. Vase: Pinecone design. Italian, 19th Gardner’s ball gown designed by century. Maiolica Frederick Worth. French, about 1890. Silk satin with with silver thread 13. Christ Delivering the Keys to [reproduction] Saint Peter, about 1521–25. Vincenzo Catena (Italian, about 1480–1531). Oil 3. Candlestick in the form of an on canvas Angel. Italian, early 1600s. Bronze 14. King Philip IV of Spain, about 4. Chalice. Italian, 19th century. Silver 1626–28. Diego Velázquez and 32 workshop (Spanish, 1599–1660). Oil on 5. Plate. Italian, 16th century. Enamel canvas on copper 15. Cope (ecclesiastical vestment). 6. Cupid Blowing a Horn. Italian or Italian, 16th century. Silk Flemish, 17th century. Bronze 16. Armchair. Italian, 18th century. 7. Console Table. Italian, mid-1700s. Wood Painted and gilded wood 17. Portrait of Bindo Altoviti, 1549. 8. Armchair (set of seven in this room). Benvenuto Cellini (Italian, 1500–1571). 30 Italian, 1760s. Painted and gilded wood Bronze

9. Vase. Italian, 1846. Maiolica 18. Self-Portrait, about 1545–50. Baccio Bandinelli (Italian, 1448–1560). Oil on 10. Plaque: Europa, 1917. Paul Manship wood (American, 1885–1966). Bronze TITIAN ROOM • WEST WALL

The grandest of all the galleries in the museum, this room captures Isabella 301 Gardner’s love of Venice, where she spent many summers. Titian’s Europa dominates the room, and most of the other works exhibited here are associated in some way with this painting. Mrs. Gardner bought Europa in 1896 (for a world- record price) and, when it arrived in Boston, she excitedly wrote: “I am drinking myself drunk with Europa and then sitting for hours . . . thinking and dreaming about her. Every inch of paint in the picture seems full of joy.”

Attributed to Sofonisba Anguissola Armchairs Italian, about 1532–1625 Italian, 1760s 27 Juana of Austria with a Young Girl Painted and gilded wood 1561 Oil on canvas In the center of this gallery are six finely carved and gilded chairs made for the Borghese Palace, in Rome. The remark- Juana of Austria (1535–1573) was the sister ably intricate disks and swags around of King Philip II of Spain and daughter of the legs recall ancient Roman decora- Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, whose tion. Unusual for chairs of this type, the portrait cameo she wears. Married to Prince splats on the back are painted with flow- Juan of Portugal but widowed at seventeen, ers, insects, and small animals – each Juana later founded a monastery that be- chair with a different pattern. Designed came an important center of artistic patron- to be placed against the wall as room age. This portrait was painted as a gift to the decoration, rather than actually used, pope. The child is probably a young aristo- these chairs still have their original seat crat in Juana’s household. caning. Isabella Gardner bought this painting as a The writer Henry James saw them in work by Titian, although Bernard Berenson, Venice and called them “the loveliest I her advisor, warned her that the attribu- ever saw.” But added, thinking of Isa- tion was doubtful. He was right: the artist bella Gardner: “They are not a symbol of is probably Sofonisba Anguissola, an Italian her attitude – she never sits down.” painter working at the Spanish court.

This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. TITIAN ROOM • WEST WALL

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1. Portrait of a Man, 1576. Giovan Battista 9. Portrait of Zaccaria Vendramin, 16th Moroni (Italian, about 1520–1578). Oil on century. Follower of Tintoretto (Italian, canvas 1518–1594). Oil on canvas 2. Velvet Cope. Italian, about 1675–1750. 10. Christ Disputing in the Temple, mid- Silk 1540s. Paris Bordone (Italian, 1500–1571). Oil on canvas 3. Armchair. Italian, 18th century. Painted wood 11. Satin Cope. Italian, 17th century. Silk 4. Venus Wounded by a Rose’s Thorn. 12. Armchair. Italian, 18th century. Copy of an Italian 16th century work. Oil Painted wood on canvas 13. Settee. English, late 18th century. 5. Commode. Italian, 18th century. Wood, with caning Painted wood, with pastiglia (gesso 14. Juana of Austria with a Young Girl, ornament) 1561. Attributed to Sofonisba Anguissola 6. Namban Chest. Japanese, mid-17th (Italian, about 1532–1625). Oil on canvas century. Lacquered wood, with gold and

silver decoration, inlaid with mother-of- pearl Center of Room 7. Woman in a Turban, about 1516–18. 15. Armchairs (set of seven in this room). Francesco Torbido (Italian, about 1482– Italian, 1760s. Painted and gilded wood 27 1562). Oil on canvas 16. Two Console Tables. Italian, about 8. Virgin and Child in a Landscape with 1780. Wood, with marble tops Saints, about 1520–25. Bonifazio Veronese 17. Isfahan Rug. Persian or Indian, 17th (Italian, 1487–1553). Oil on wood century. Wool pile on cotton foundation TITIAN ROOM • SOUTH WALL

Views to the Courtyard 31 Almost every gallery on the upper floors of the museum has a window or door- way that opens to the courtyard. This ingenious design allows visitors to view the garden and court from different vantage points. The glass roof is still supported by the original steel structure built in 1901. Some of the window frames and bal- ustrades once decorated Italian buildings, while others were made specifically for Isabella Gardner to match the originals. Note the splotches of pink paint on the walls: it is said that Mrs. Gardner got up on a ladder to show her workmen how to create this marbled effect. Many of the dark stains that run down the walls were intentionally painted on to mimic the look of an old Venetian palace.

This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. TITIAN ROOM • SOUTH WALL

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1. Side Chair (six in this room). Italian, 5. Chest. Italian, 18th century. Carved early 19th century. Mahogany and gilded wood covered with 17th- century silk velvet, voided and cut 2. A Woman with a Lute, 1520. Bartolomeo Veneto (Italian, active 6. The Nativity, late 1400s. Liberale 1502–died 1531). Oil on wood de Verona (Italian, about 1445–about 1526). Oil on wood 3. Antiochus and Stratonice, about 1550. Studio of Bonafazio Veronese 7. Leather-Covered Chairs. Italian, (Italian, 1487–1553). Oil on canvas 17th century. Wood 4. Velvet from a Dossal or Canopy. Italian, about 1750. Cut silk with appliqués of embroidered linen

Center of Room Armchairs (seven in this room). Italian, 27 1760s. Painted and gilded wood Two Console Tables. Italian, about 1780. Wood, with marble tops Isfahan Rug. Persian or Indian, 17th century. Wool pile on cotton foundation