Titian and Tragic Painting: Aristotle's Poetics and the Rise of the Modern Artist Book

Late in his life Titian created a series of paintingsâ??the â??Four Sinners,â? the â??poesieâ? for his patron Philip II of Spain, and the â??Final Tragediesâ?â??that were dark in tone and content, full of pathos and physical suffering.In this major reinterpretation of Titianâ??s art, Thomas Puttfarken shows that the often dramatic and violent subject matter of these works was not, as is often argued, the consequence of the artistâ??s increasing age and sense of isolation and tragedy. Rather, these paintings were influenced by discussions of Aristotleâ??s Poetics that permeated learned discourse in Italy in the mid-sixteenth century. The Poetics led directly to a rich theory of the visual arts, and painting in particular, that enabled artists like Titian to consider themselves on equal footing with poets. Puttfarken investigates Titianâ??s late works in this context and analyzes his relations with his patrons, his intellectual and humanistic contacts, and his choices of subject matter, style, and technique.Read More