Episode 27 - Higher Ground
Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne, 1520-23
Oil on canvas, 69 ½ x 75 ¼ in (176.5 × 191 cm)
National Gallery, London
Cross section of sample from the red scarf on Ariadne's left shoulder
National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 2, 1978, p. 47
Cross section of sample from the blue skirt of the Bacchante with cymbals
National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 2, 1978, p. 47
Titian, Portrait of a Lady ('La Schiavona'), c 1510-12
Oil on canvas, 47 x 38 in(119.4 × 96.5 cm)
National Gallery, London
La Schiavona - Cross section from purple dress
National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 34, 2013, p. 60
Layers from the bottom
​
Gesso – calcium sulfate in animal glue
Imprimitura – creamy color – lead white, lamp black, and yellow earth in oil
Light pink paint – lead white and red lake
Light blue paint – lead white and ultramarine
Red lake glaze
Titian, Diana and Acteon,
Titian, Diana and Callisto
At Titian: Women, Myth & Power, August 12, 2021 - January 2, 2022, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Titian, Diana and Actaeon, 1556-9
Oil on canvas, 72 ½ x 79 ½ in (184.5 × 202.2 cm)
National Gallery, London and National Galleries of Scotland
Titian, Diana and Callisto, 1556-9
Oil on canvas, 73 ½ x 80 ½ in (187 × 204.5 cm)
National Gallery, London and National Galleries of Scotland
X Rodiographs of Titian's Diana and Acteon and Diana and Calisto
National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 36, 2015, pp 66 and 78
Paolo Veronese, Mars and Venus United by Love, 1570s
Oil on canvas, 81 x 63 3/8 in (205.7 x 161 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Paolo Veronese, Wisdom and Strength, 1565
Oil on canvas, 84 1/2 x 65 3/4 in (214.6 x 167 cm)
The Frick Collection, New York
Paolo Veronese, The Choice Between Virtue and Vice, 1565
Oil on canvas, 86 1/4 x 66 3/4 in (219.1 x 169.5 cm)
The Frick Collection, New York
Cross section from Mars and Venus
Greenish blue sky
Mahon, fig 26, p 104
Cross section from Virtue and Vice
Orange gown
Mahon, fig 13, p 95
Cross section from Wisdom and Strength
Brown leaves
Mahon, fig 15, p 95
Cross section from Mars and Venus
Leaves upper right
Mahon, fig 27, p 104
Cross section from Virtue and Vice
Deep blue sky
Mahon, fig 10, p 94
Cross section from Wisdom and Strength
Green from drapery upper right
Mahon, fig 16, p 95
X Radiograph of Wisdom and Strength
Overall
Mahon, fig 4, p 87
X Radiograph of Wisdom and Strength
Detail of splashes
Mahon, fig 18, p 96
X Radiograph of Wisdom and Strength
Detail of scrapes
Mahon, fig 17, p 96
Warm color of ground visible through thinner paint and through wear at edges
Paolo Veronese, Boy with a Greyhound, c 1570s
Oil on canvas, 68 3/8 x 40 1/8 in (173.7 x 101.9 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Warm color of ground visible between different color areas and through small losses
Indicating where ground is visible
Jacopo Tintoretto, Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples, c 1575-80
Oil on canvas, 80 ½ x 161 ½ in (204.5 × 410.2 cm)
National Gallery, London
Jacopo Tintoretto, The Origin of the Milky Way, c 1575
Oil on canvas, 58 ¾ x 66 ¼ in (149.4 × 168 cm)
National Gallery, London
Jacopo Tintoretto, The Origin of the Milky Way
Cross section showing palette scraping ground
National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 4, 1980, p 47
Jacopo Tintoretto, Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciples
Cross section showing black ground
National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 3, 1979, p 10
Jacopo Tintoretto, Portrait of Vincenzo Morosini, c 1575
Oil on canvas, 33 ½ x 20 ½ in (85.3 × 52.2 cm)
National Gallery, London
Jacopo Tintoretto, Portrait of Vincenzo Morosini
Cross section showing palette scraping ground
National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 4, 1980, p 47
Recommended Reading
​​​
Arthur Lucas and Joyce Plesters, “Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne,” National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 2, pp 25–47, 1978
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/technical-bulletin/lucas_plesters1978
​
Jill Dunkerton and Marika Spring, with contributions from Billinge, R., Kalinina, K., Morrison, R., Macaro, G., Peggie, D. and Roy, A., National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol. 34:Titian’s Painting Technique to c.1540, 2013
​​
Dorothy Mahon, Silvia A. Centeno, Mark T. Wypyski, Xavier F. Salomon, and Andrea Bayer, "Technical Study of Three Allegorical Paintings by Paolo Veronese: The Choice between Virtue and Vice, Wisdom and Strength, and Mars and Venus United by Love," Metropolitan Museum Studies in Art, Science, and Technology, 2010
https://www.metmuseum.org/met-publications/metropolitan-museum-studies-in-art-science-and-technology
​
Jacqueline Ridge and Marika Spring, “The Conservation History of Titian's Diana and Acteon and Diana and Callisto”, National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol. 36: Titian's Painting Technique from 1540, pp. 116-123, 2015
​
Joyce Plesters,"Tintoretto's Paintings in the National Gallery: Part I," National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 3, pp 3–24.
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/technical-bulletin/plesters1979
​
Joyce Plesters,"Tintoretto's Paintings in the National Gallery: Part II," National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol 4, pp 32–48.
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/technical-bulletin/plesters1980
​
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
​