Tiziano Vecellio has been getting a lot of coverage lately. Don’t recognize the name? Here are a couple hints: He’s widely considered the greatest Venetian painter of the 16th century. Minnesota Monthly ran a piece on how to decode one of his famous works, Diana and Actaeon, in our February issue. We also gave him a second shout-out in a February Editors’ Pick. Still not sure who this mystery artist is? Alright, we’ll give it to you. It’s the one and only Titian.
Tonight, professor Steve Ostrow, who’s also the chair of the department of art history at the University of Minnesota, will be lecturing about a series of six erotic, mythological paintings Titian created for King Philip II of Spain between 1553 and 1562. During the lecture, he will be giving special consideration to each work’s thematic, theoretical, and technical complexities. If you haven’t seen the Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts yet, this is a chance to beef up your knowledge of art history and thus further enjoy the pieces when you do visit. If you’ve already been, the lecture serves as a great way to better understand what you saw and add context to beauty. Either way, you’ll be dedicating an hour to discussing beautiful, timeless, poetic artwork. Not a bad Thursday night if you ask us.
Titian’s Poesie for Philip II: The Triumph of the Brush
Thursday, March 3, 6–7 p.m.
$15
Pillsbury Auditorium
310 Pillsbury Dr. SE, Mpls.
