A Madona Cigana

Around 1510 the leading painter in Venice, Giorgione, died in a plague outbreak, and the young Titian was left to absorb everything his elder had begun. You can feel that inheritance here. The soft fullness of the Virgin and the hazy landscape behind her come straight out of Giorgione, so much so that for a long time people credited him with this panel. The nickname, the Gypsy Madonna, comes simply from the Virgin's dark hair and warm colouring. This was a picture for a private home, not a church, a quiet domestic Madonna. If you look closely at the Child's face, examinations have shown he first gazed out at the viewer before Titian turned his head.