The Lovers

Around 1510 Titian was still a young man in Venice, working in the shadow of Giorgione, the painter who had taught the city to prize mood over story. That year plague swept through Venice and killed Giorgione, and it fell to Titian to carry on his soft, enigmatic manner. You can feel that inheritance here. A woman leans back against a man who holds her, and for two centuries viewers have not agreed on what is happening. She may be fainting while he feels for her heartbeat, or resting against a lover. The upper half of the panel is damaged, which is one reason even Titian's authorship is still debated, though the man's shimmering satin sleeve has the quick, alive brushwork that points to his hand.