Title: Alfonso d'Avalos

Artist: Titian

Portrait of Alfonso d'Avalos, Marquis of Vasto, in Armor with a Page Probably January–February 1533 Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) Italian, about 1487–1576 Oil on canvas Titian was considered the greatest portrait painter in Europe during his own lifetime, and the execution of this work occurred at the very inception of a genre—the standing state portrait. Within a highly restricted palette, the artist presented the sitter preparing himself for battle both mentally and physically. Lost in thought and almost oblivious to the page handing him his helmet, d'Avalos is depicted within an undefined but palpable space. He is isolated both by his surroundings and his aloofness; his small servant puts the spectator one step further from the man himself. This isolation suggests the engagement of a hero with his destiny, not unlike the many references to d'Avalos in Ludovico Ariosto's Mad Orlando of 1532. The sitter's expressive face and the hand placed on his sword combine thought with power; it is a portrait of determination personified, of action premeditated. The picture was painted by Titian in Bologna, where he traveled from Venice at the request of Emperor Charles V.