Classical Myths Interpreted by Titian

They are classical myths from the Metamorphoses by Ovid, the subjects depicted in the work that, in 1551, Prince Philip of Spain, soon to be King Philip II, commissioned to Titian. Today, the paintings of this epic series come to the National Gallery from Boston, Madrid and London, reunited for the first time in over four centuries. Love, Desire, Death. The exhibition is articulated around these themes. The canvases, which depict the stories of Danae, Venus and Adonis, Diana and Callisto, but not only - they symbolise fatal encounters, kidnappings, lust. The Venetian painter was able to create, thanks to his use of light, an intense chromatic weave, making mere drapes sumptuous, multiplying reflections, conferring enchantment to the landscapes. The gods, under his brush, became human and experience terrestrial sentiments like guilt, desperation, regret - all heightened by the luminosity and hues of the artist which foresaw the virtual transformation of humanistic-renaissance culture. The compositions are highly sensual, not trying to conceal drama and even ferocity, defined by the artist himself as "poesie" (“poetry”). These works, today, speak, not only to virtuosity, but also an extraordinary human sensibility. The exhibition will later move on to Edinburgh, Madrid and Boston.