Why Not Tell the Truth?

Why Not Tell the Truth?

Three Venetian men over a time period of four hundred years, all using the working woman as their model, but which created the most commotion over their painting, and how?

Giorgione, 1477-1510, has always been considered as one of Europe’s most important artists. We know of only a few pictures painted by him for definite as he never signed anything throughout his short 15year career. His reputation was not created so much upon his paintings, but on his ideas and what they contributed to Italian art. He was highly influenced by Bellini, leading him to take atmosphere to its logical conclusion, painting emotionally charged pictures that never seemed to rely on any story, unlike religious art that was around at that time. [i] Giorgione proposed a new and sensual interest in the beauty of the human form. Early Renaissance ideals depend on specific intellectual connections, but he breaks away from this approach, creating an ideal of beauty designed to appeal directly to the sense rather than the mind. This is what sparked him to create his last piece of work, the Sleeping Venus 1510, which proved most influential as the first non-religious female nude ever. The choice of using a nude woman marked a revolution in art, and can be considered the starting point of modern art. [ii] His painting portrays a young, nude women sleeping in an open landscape, a feature of Venetian painting. Her undulating body outline enhances the sensation of heavy-eyed sleep, and encourages the eye to cast a caressing gaze over the figure, bringing your attention to her hand covering her genital area.[iii] Not only did he revolutionise art, he also changed the role of patronage, painting non-religious pictures for private people rather than churches which was most prevalently done. Giorgione died in 1510 before he had completely finished Sleeping Venus so Titian, whom he had as his Student finished it off for him, he turned out to be one of Venice’s most important...