Titian (real name Tiziano Vecellio) was an Italian painter. He was born in 1477 at Pieve and died in 1576 of plague. Of an old family in the district of Cadore, he learned painting in Venice, probably, at first, with Zuccato, a worker in mosaic. He then studied under Gentile Bellini, eventually attaching himself to Giorgione, from whom he received his sense of glorious colouring, and of romance. By the time Giorgione had died, at the age of thirty-two, Titian had become a great name in Venice. One of his earliest allegorical compositions, Sacred and Profane Love, exemplifies his skill as a colourist, and strength in composition. In 1513 he applied to the Council in Venice to be made their official painter, and three years later he obtained his request. From that time onwards he was the supreme head of the Venetian school.
The greater part of his life was spent in Venice, but he was heard of at Ferrara, Mantua, Bologna, Augsburg, and Milan, his work being in great demand, various members of the imperial court sending for him to carry out their commissions. In 1545 he was in Rome, carrying out commissions for Pope Paul III, and made the acquaintance of Michelangelo.
In Augsburg he produced the portrait of Charles V, now at the Prado, one of the noblest works of the 16th century, and he also painted several portraits of Philip II of Spain. Research Titian
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