Titian at the National Gallery - Love, Desire, Death

‘Death of Actaeon’ (about 1559-75), the National Gallery, London

The National Gallery have organised an astonishing exhibition - Titian - Love, Desire, Death, that  unites all six paintings, in a series that Titian referred to as the 'poesie', for the first time in over 400 years. Ironically, the exhibition opened in March 2020 just as the Coronavirus restrictions prevented the public from visiting; a shocking event that perfectly demonstrates the cruel and capricious way in which the Gods play with our lives. 

'Danaë’ (about 1551–3), The Wellington Collection, Apsley House

The scene is based on the story of the Princess Danae recounted briefly by Ovid and at greater length by Boccaccio. She was isolated in a bronze tower following a prophecy that her firstborn would eventually kill her father. Although aware of the consequences, Danaë was seduced and became pregnant by Zeus / Jupiter, who, inflamed by lust, descended from Mount Olympus to seduce her in the form of a shower of gold.

‘Venus and Adonis’ (1554), Prado, Madrid

Venus tries to stop her lover from departing for the hunt, fearing—correctly—that he would be killed. The mood of sensuality, conveyed by the beautiful depiction of Venus, seen from the back, enhances the viewer’s sense of the tragic end to this story, expressed through their exchanged glances and the frightened Cupid. 

     ‘Diana and Callisto’, (1556–9) National Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland

The nymph Callisto was the favourite of Diana, the virgin goddess of the hunt. Jupiter, king of the gods, noticed her beauty and disguised himself in order to seduce her. Titian has painted the moment Diana forces Callisto to strip and bathe after hunting and discovers her pregnancy.

‘Rape of Europa’ (1559–62) from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

This is the story of the abduction of Europa by Zeus / Jupiter. Europa is sprawled helplessly on her back, her clothes in disarray. In the myth, the god assumed the form of a bull and enticed Europa to climb onto his back. Once there, the bull rode into the sea and carried her to Crete where he revealed his real identity. Europa became the first Queen of Crete, and had three children with Zeus. The painting depicts Europa on the back of the bull, just off the shore of her homeland.

‘Perseus and Andromeda’ (probably 1554–6), The Wallace Collection, London


Perseus and Andromeda is perhaps the most dramatic of all of these paintings. Andromeda is shown chained to a rock as a sacrifice to appease the sea monster, who had been sent by Neptune to punish her mother for claiming that she and Andromeda were more beautiful than the Nereids. The hero Perseus swoops down to rescue her, his powerful vertiginous descent contrasting vividly with her passive vulnerability.

Diana and Actaeon

This painting portrays the moment in which the hunter Actaeon bursts into where the goddess Diana and her nymphs are bathing. Diana is furious and turns Actaeon into a stag, who is then pursued and killed by his own hounds, a scene Titian later painted in 'The Death of Actaeon' (see below)

'Death of Actaeon’ (about 1559-75), the National Gallery, London

This is the sequel to Titian's Diana and Actaeon showing the story's tragic conclusion, which approximately follows the Roman poet's account. After Actaeon surprised the goddess Diana bathing naked in the woods, she transformed him into a stag and he is attacked and killed by his own hounds.

The paintings are inspired by stories taken from Ovid’s 'Metamorphoses' and other classical works and were almost all painted for Prince Philip of Spain (later King Philip) over 10 years from about 1551 to 1562.

Ovid's poems provided Titian with tales from a world where capricious and cruel immortals play havoc with the lives of men and women. The paintings all have themes of seduction, disguise and power.

Click here for the National Gallery Facebook page where the two 'Diana' painting are discussed

Click here for the fascinating BBC programme which discusses the exhibition 

See also Favourite Writings - Ovid 

And finally, I can't resist adding another similar painting, 'Bacchus and Ariadne' by Luca Giodarno, that hangs in the Herbert Gallery and Museum, Coventry. 

'It is a virtuoso reinterpretation and expansion of Titian's famous painting of 'Bacchus and Ariadne' which is now in the National Gallery, London. It tells a story which was popular in classical times and in the renaissance. Theseus had killed the Minotaur and escaped from the Labyrinth by means of a ball of string given to him by Ariadne. He took Ariadne off with him in his ship but (this is where the painting begins) abandons her on the island of Naxos. She holds the string and gazes at his vanishing sail, but behind her Bacchus, the god of wine and revelry arrives to comfort her.' The story is further immortalised in Richard Strauss's semi-comic opera, 'Ariadne Auf Naxos' 

See also 'The Lasting legacy of Ovid'