User:Guineptree/Mater Dolorosa (Titian)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Original article: Mater Dolorosa

Mater Dolorosa[edit]

Mater Dolorosa
ArtistTitian and studio
Yearc.1550 or c.1555
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions68 cm × 61 cm (27 in × 24 in)
LocationMuseo del Prado, Madrid

Mater Dolorosa is a three-quarter length portrait painting completed in 1554 by Italian artist, Tiziano Vecelli (more commonly known as Titian) in collaboration with his studio.[1][2] Some scholars have concluded that Titian was primary creator of this piece because it lacks the technique and style of his other pieces. Alternate names for Titian's Mater Dolorosa include Mater Dolorosa with Clasped Hands and the Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands joined.[3] It is believed to be a companion piece for Titian's other devotional piece, Ecce Homo.[1] The painting depicts a side profile of the Virgin Mary as she stares to the left of the canvas. A single tear is running down her left cheek and both of her hands are clasped. Originally belonging to King Charles V of Spain, ownership of the Mater Dolorosa was transferred to King Phillips II, then the Escorial and finally Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain where it currently resides.[2] Though it shares some similarities, The Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands apart is different from Mater Dolorosa with Clasped Hands. The Virgin Dolorosa is also located in the Prado.[4] Mater Dolorosa has had a lasting effect on many artists, several of whom copied the art work in the 17th century. This piece has been featured in an 2003 exhibit about Titian.[5]



Title and Subject[edit]

The term "Mater Dolorosa" is a Latin phrase which directly translates to "sorrowful mother" in English. It is typically used to describe Jesus' mother, the Virgin Mary, mourning her son's death. [6][7] During the Renaissance, many artists used their artwork to depict the Virgin Mary ( also known as Mary Magdalene) at important points in her life. Popular among Greco-Roman artists was the illustration of Mary in her role as grieving mother after Jesus was crucified. She would often times be depicted holding the body of her son. Even though both God and Jesus were depicted at different ages in artwork from that period, Mary was almost always depicted as youthful, innocent and gentle.[8]

Origin[edit]

Titian's Mater Dolorosa was commissioned by Charles V to be a companion piece to a similarly religious piece by Titian called the Ecce Homo.[1] According to experts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C, the images of the Ecce Homo and Mater Dolorosa were associated with each other even before Charles V commissioned them. An example of this is Aelbrecht Bouts' Ecce Homo and Mater Dolorosa. Both paintings were attached in a frame so that they formed a diptych.[9] A diptych refers to a single image or a collection of artworks that are placed on 2 hinged panels, which allows for the panels to be opened and closed.[10]

History[edit]

Emperor Charles V and Francisco de Vargas, the Ambassador of Spain to Venice, were able to get in touch with Titian regularly via letters. The topic of these letters were often times the artworks Charles V wanted to commission or was in the process of commissioning from Titian.[2] Charles V contracted Titian to paint the Mater Dolorosa with Clasped Hands in 1553, which Titian and his apprentices were able to complete in October 1554. By 1556, it was in King Charles V's possession in Spain.[1][2]


In 1555, the Mater Dolorosa was one of a few paintings in a small collection that King Charles V took with him when he went to the Monastery of Yuste for some solitude in his final days on Earth. The Ecce Homo, Madonna Adollorata, and the Trinity (commonly referred to as La Gloria in Spain) are few of the other paintings that comprised of Charles V's private, spiritual art collection at Yuste.[11] At the Monastery of Yuste, he used the Ecce Homo and Mater Dolorosa diptych as an altarpiece for an altar he created for the Virgin Mary. Once he received Titian's Mater Dolorosa with her Hands apart, he moved the original Mater Dolorosa to the privacy of his bedroom.[12]

Provenance[edit]

After his death, his son and successor, King Phillip II took possession of his father's collection.[2][11] In 1574, Phillip II gifted the Mater Dolorosa to the Escorial. It was kept there until the year 1839 when it was moved to the Museo del Prado where it has remained ever since.[13]

Critics[edit]

There is some speculation amongst art historians, such as Sir Claude Phillips, Georg Gronau, and Alice Todd, about whether or not Titian was the primary painter of Mater Dolorosa. This is due to the fact that it lacks the artistic technique customary of Titian's other works.[1][11] German critic, Herr Knackfuss, harshly criticized the technique used in Mater Dolorosa with Clasped Hands in a monograph he wrote about Titian. Some art historians, such as Léonce Amaudry, believe that the Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands apart is much more representative of the talent and technique that Titian is known for.[12]

Description and Analysis[edit]

The Mater Dolorosa shows the Virgin Mary in a rigid stance, with her hands tightly clasped. This helps to highlight the 3 dimensionality of the piece. Her clasped hands also create a sense of reverence. In order to evoke a sense of the Virgin's femininity, an artistic technique called impasto is used at the points where her sleeves meet her wrists. Care is also used in the painting of her skin so that her skin appears to be tender. The darkness of the background helps to bridge the gap between the painting and its companion piece, Ecce Homo, allowing the viewer to see their interrelatedness. The only source of light seems to be coming from the (viewer's) left side of the frame. Similar lighting is used in the Ecce Homo wherein Jesus Christ is cloaked in an unknown light source that emanates from the left of the frame. Though Mary is gazing directly on him, her son's gaze is directed down to the lower right portion of the frame.[2]


Mosche Barasch, an Isreali art scholar, suggests that Renaissance artists used various unassuming physical gestures in their artwork in order to convey feelings of grief and despair. One such gesture he mentions is hand wringing. [14] Some art historians, in agreement with Barasch's ideas, believe that Mary's clasped hands are used to express her grief at seeing her son in such a disparaging state of pain and suffering. Her clasped hands are also believed to convey the act of her begging her son, as the Son of God, to take the necessary steps to prevent his own execution.[2]

Mater Dolorosa with Clasped Hands
An image of Titian's Ecce Homo which was often times displayed in conjunction with his similarly devotional piece, Mater Dolorosa
An image of Titian's Ecce Homo which was often times displayed in conjunction with his similarly devotional piece, Mater Dolorosa

Relation to Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands Apart[edit]

While at the Yuste in 1555, Charles V commissioned a second painting of the Mater Dolorosa for his collection. For this version of the Mater Dolorosa, Titian was given specifications, unlike for the original regarding the media on which the Virgin should be painted. Charles V desired that it be painted on marble and that a model be used in creating the Virgin Mary, which it is beieved that Charles V sent to Titian.[2]

Thomas Puttfarken, a German-born fine arts art historian, believed that Charles V requested a second Mater Dolorosa due to the original's difference in size from Ecce Homo.[15][16] Other scholars believe that not only did the size discrepancy play a part in Charles V's decision to commission the second painting, but also that the difference in the media on which each piece is painted contributed to his decision.[12] Even though the Mater Dolorosa with Clasped Hands is an oil painting done on a wood panel, the Mater Dolorosa with Hands apart is an oil painting done on a marble slate.[3][4] There is no written evidence that suggests that either theory is correct. However, the fact that Charles V requested a second version of the painting suggests that he had at least some level of dissatisfaction with the original piece. His dissatisfaction is also evident in how acquiescent he was while he waited for Titian to locate the marble that fit his required standards and specifications.[2]

An image of Titian's The Virgin Dolorosa with Her Hands apart that is often times confused with his similar piece, Mater Dolorosa (with clasped hands).
An image of Titian's The Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands apart that is often times confused with his similar piece, Mater Dolorosa (with clasped hands).

Comparison[edit]

Similarities[edit]

A similarity between The Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands apart and the Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands joined is that both paintings were created in such a manner that they would complement the Ecce Homo by being placed on its left. The purpose of such a design is to allow for the Virgin Mary's gaze to expand past the borders of its own media and onto the neighbouring companion artwork of her son.[17] A second similarity between the two.paintings is the subject. Both paintings are of the Virgin Mary.[11]

Differences[edit]

A notable difference between The Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands apart and the Virgin Dolorosa with Clasped Hands is the deviation in posture, specifically the fact that the Virgin Mary's arms are clasped in the latter and held apart in the former. The Virgin's open arms contrast with Jesus' bounded arms in the Ecce Homo highlighting a major premise of Christianity, that everyone, Jesus himself has free will which they can use to serve God. Mary is conveying that the situation and Jesus' actions are out of her hands. The change in posture also gives the viewer a more frontal view of Mary which is more characteristic of iconographic paintings. Another difference between the two paintings is Mary's gaze. While Mary was staring directly at her son in Virgin Dolorosa with Clasped Hands, her gaze is now directed to the lower left corner of the painting's frame in The Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands apart. A third difference between the painting is the media on which each is painted.[2]

Legacy[edit]

The Mater Dolorosa is one of the most popular choices for replication in Spain in comparison to Titian's other religious paintings. A famous 17th century Spanish art appraiser, Juan Carreño de Miranda found a copy of Titian's Mater Dolorosa in 1658, painted by Barto Iomé Román, among other copies of famous paintings. It was in the private collection of a Spanish nobleman by the name of Don Luis de Hurtado. A Spanish copyist, Francisco de Burgos Mantilla, also reported seeing a pair of realistic replicas of the Ecce Homo and Mater Dolorosa in a Spanish royal officer's private collection in the mid seventeenth century.[18]

Modern times[edit]

Today, The Mater Dolorosa is housed in the Museo del Prado located in Madrid. It is hung on the first floor of the museum next to Titian's Ecce Homo.[19]

An image of the exterior of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain
An image of the exterior of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain

Past Exhibits[edit]

On June 9, 2003, The Museo del Prado opened up an exhibit called 'Titian.' It showcased various artworks from Tiziano Vecelli spanning his entire career. The Mater Dolorosa with her clasped Hands was featured in this exhibit alongside Ecce Homo, Mater Dolorosa with her Hands apart and many of his other pieces. This exhibit was curated by the museum's Departmental Head of Renaissance Paintings, Miguel Falomir, and was closed on September 9, 2003.[5]


  1. ^ a b c d e Gronau, Georg; Todd, Alice M. (1904). Titian. Getty Research Institute. London, Duckworth and co.: New York, C. Scribner's sons.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nygren, Christopher J. "Vibrant Icons: Titian's Art and the Tradition of Christian Image-Making." pp 322-334. Order No. 3484253 The Johns Hopkins University, 2011. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Mater Dolorosa with Clasped Hands - The Collection - Museo Nacional del Prado". www.museodelprado.es. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  4. ^ a b "The Virgin Dolorosa with her Hands apart - The Collection - Museo Nacional del Prado". www.museodelprado.es. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  5. ^ a b "Titian - Exhibition - Museo Nacional del Prado". www.museodelprado.es. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  6. ^ "Definition of MATER DOLOROSA". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  7. ^ "Definition of mater dolorosa | Dictionary.com". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 2020-10-31.
  8. ^ Belán, Kyra. The Virgin in Art, Parkstone International, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bu/detail.action?docID=5343511. pp. 104
  9. ^ Hand, John Oliver, 1941- (2006). Prayers and portraits : unfolding the Netherlandish diptych. Metzger, Catherine A., Spronk, Ron., National Gallery of Art (U.S.), Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Belgium). Washington: National Gallery of Art. ISBN 0-300-12155-5. OCLC 70045879.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ “Diptych.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diptych. Accessed 17 Nov. 2020.
  11. ^ a b c d Phillips, Sir Claude. Titian, Parkstone International, 2008. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bu/detail.action?docID=4455977. pp. 238, 241
  12. ^ a b c Amaudry, Léonce. “The Collection of Dr. Carvallo at Paris. Article I-A Newly-Discovered Titian.” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, vol. 6, no. 20, 1904, pp. 95–97. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/856060. Accessed 16 Nov. 2020.
  13. ^ Falomir, M.: Tiziano, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2003, pp. 385-386)
  14. ^ Barasch, Moshe. (1976). Gestures of despair in medieval and early Renaissance art. New York: New York University Press. pp. 123–125. ISBN 0-8147-1006-9. OCLC 2424307.
  15. ^ Puttfarken, Thomas. (2005). Titian & tragic painting : Aristotle's poetics and the rise of the modern artist. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-11000-6. OCLC 60321467.
  16. ^ Podro, Michael (2006-10-20). "Obituary: Thomas Puttfarken". the Guardian. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  17. ^ Essays in context: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych, edited by John Oliver Hand and Ron Spronk (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006), pp 92-109
  18. ^ Burke, Marcus B.; Cherry, Peter (1997-01-01). Collections of Painting in Madrid, 1601–1755 (Parts 1 and 2) (in Spanish). Getty Publications. ISBN 978-0-89236-496-1.
  19. ^ "Ecce Homo - The Collection - Museo Nacional del Prado". www.museodelprado.es. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Guineptree/Mater_Dolorosa_(Titian)&oldid=989298331"