Das Wunder des geheilten Fußes

Titian was in his early twenties when he painted this on a wall in Padua, between April and December of 1511. It is among the first works that are firmly his, done before the fame that would make him the most sought-after painter in Europe. The scene comes from the legends of Saint Anthony of Padua. A young man, the story goes, kicked his own mother in a fit of temper, then cut off the offending foot in remorse, and the saint miraculously joined it back on. Titian sets the miracle among ordinary onlookers in everyday dress. Fresco was unusual for him, and he rarely worked in it again.