The Philippine Online Chronicles

A painting by the Renaissance artist Tiziano Vecellio, better known as Titian, that was hanging from the ceiling of a basilica in the northern Italian city of Venice has suffered water damage, because firefighters had doused the exterior of the church while battling a blaze that had erupted nearby, reported ARTINFO.

The flames broke out on Sunday at the seminary next to the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, a vast, octagonal building that dates back to the 17th century, and which dominates the view of the Grand Canal. While having dinner in the vicinity of the church, Vittorio Sgarbi, the head of Venice's museum agency, caught sight of the fire and immediately rushed to the scene.

When the fire was finally put out, he said he saw water drip from the painting for an hour. Sgarbi said that firefighters had hit the outside of the basilica with a lot of water from a high-pressure hose, and that the water had seeped down through the roof, damaging Titian's David and Goliath.

The painting portrays a scene from the Bible, and shows a young David, his arms raised to the sky, hands clasped in prayer, as he stands over the prone body and severed head of the giant Goliath. It was one of three paintings by the Venetian master hanging from the roof the vestry of the church.

Workers have set up scaffolding in order that the artworks can be closely inspected and taken down for repair, as David and Goliath was, if necessary, as water might have touched them as well. The other two paintings are Abraham and Isaac and Cain and Abel.

According to Sgarbi, preliminary tests showed that the harm done to David and Goliath was not serious.  "The painting might have experienced some alteration, but nothing that can't be restored," he said, and added, "We were lucky." Sgarbi, a maverick art critic with a reputation for aggressiveness and provocativeness, will be curating the Italian pavilion at the Venice Biennale, a major exhibition of contemporary art, which opens in June next year.

Sgarbi referred to the ceiling of the basilica as "Titian's most important ceiling", saying that, with the presence of the three paintings, Titian was, in a sense, competing with his older contemporary, Michelangelo, whose work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling is famous around the world. The two artists were born within approximately 15 years of each other.

Titian is generally considered to be the most important Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school.  His notable works include Assumption of the Virgin, Pesaro Madonna, and Venus of Urbino. This last painting was a response to Sleeping Venus by Giorgione, Titian's associate, and would inspire Édouard Manet, centuries later, to create his Olympia.

Titian was recognized early on in his career as a great artist, and is well-known for his use and application of color. His name is synonymous with the brownish-orange color that he favored in his paintings. He died in Venice in 1576.

In 1590, art theorist Giovanni Lomazzo, paraphrasing the poet Dante Alighieri, declared him “the sun amidst small stars not only among the Italians but all the painters of the world".

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