Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Abstract
In September 1992 the J Paul Getty
Museum acquired Titian's VertUS and
Adonis, which is considered to be
one of the few of Titian's autograph
paintings of the subject. The inorganic
and organic pigments, oil
medium of the paint layers, and proteinaceous
medium of the ground
were examined using various analytical
methods. In addition, the authors
studied Titian's other, much later
version of Venus and Adonis located
in the National Gallery in Washington,
D.c. The comparison revealed
distinct differences in style and technique.
This multidisciplinary study
has shown to be very useful in gaining
a better understanding of Titian's
working methods. The examination
also revealed useful information
about various aspects of early Italian
oil painting methods in general and
helps place the technique of this
painting by Titian in context with
other paintings of the period.
Te chnical Examinations of Titian's Venus and Adonis:
A Note on Early Italian Oil Painting Technique
Ulrich Birkmaier
Conservation Department
National Gallery of Art
4th Street and Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, D.c. 20565
USA
Arie Wallert*
The Getty Conservation Institute
Museum Services Laboratory
The J Paul Getty Museum
17985 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, California 90265
USA
Andrea Rothe
Department of Paintings Conservation
The J Paul Getty Museum
17985 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, California 90265
USA
Introduction
The story of Venus and Adonis, from Book X of Ovid's Metamorphoses, ends
with the name of a fragile flower: anemone. As the tale is told, Adonis was a
young man of unequaled beauty, who became the lover of Venus (1). Venus
was so much in love with him "that she even stayed away from heaven,
preferring Adonis to the sky. She used to hold him in her arms, and became
his constant companion." She warned her lover not to hunt dangerous animals:
"Your youth and beauty, and the charms which make Venus love you,
have no effect upon lions or bristling boars, or the eyes and minds of other
wild beasts. The fierce boar deals a blow with his fangs, as swift as a lightning
flash ..."
Of course, Adonis did go out hunting. His dogs fo und a fresh trail, followed
it, and roused a wild boar. Adonis tried to kill it, but with the help of its
crooked snout the boar dislodged the spear. The boar pursued Adonis and
"it sank its teeth deep in his groin, bringing him down, mortally wounded
on the yellow sand." Venus, on her way to Cyprus, driving through the air
in her chariot, heard her lover's groans. She went down, and with the dying
Adonis in her arms, said that an everlasting token of her grief would remain
there. His blood dripping to the ground would change into a flower, the
anemone. But, just like their love, the enjoyment of this flower is brief "for
it is so fragile, its petals so lightly attached, that it quickly falls, shaken from
its stem by those same winds that give it its name, anemone."
This story is represented in a series of poesie paintings of Classical subjects, by
Titian. Such paintings were very popular among wealthy patrons, as their
mythological subject matter usually provided an excuse for the depiction of
overt sensuality. King Philip II of Spain commissioned a series of poesies from
Titian. The Venus and Adonis now located in the Prado Museum in Madrid
is considered the first of the series to reach its patron in 1554. The last one
was The Rape oj Europa of 1562, now in the Isabella Steward Gardener Museum
in Boston.
Another version of Venus and Adonis by Titian recently came into the collection
of the J. Paul Getty Museum. This work, showing Venus attempting
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Birkmaier, Wallert, and Rothe 117