In this artwork, how is the Description discussed?
The portrait depicts the tensions and manoeuvrings of 16th century court politics. The deep red background and heavy brushstrokes establish an anxious and tense atmosphere, and the uneasy relationship between the Pope and his suitors. The pope is old, ill and tired and, to some critics' eyes, glares at Ottavio in an accusatory manner. His hat or camauro cloaks his baldness, but there are tell-tale signs of age in his long nose, dark beady eyes, stooped shoulders and long uneven beard. He is noticeably older than in the second Naples portrait of c. 1545. This fact is reinforced by the clock placed on the table beside him, which serves both as a memento mori and a reminder that time is running out. Given this, the presence of his grandsons indicates that the commission was prompted by thoughts of succession.Nevertheless, Paul retains elements of a powerful and alert patriarch. The painting is set at a curious angle, so that although Paul is positioned low in the pictorial space, the viewer still looks upwards towards him as if in respect. He is dressed in full pomp, wearing wide fur-lined sleeves (a typical Venetian device to convey status), and his cape is laid across his upper body to suggest physical presence.
The work is often compared to Raphael's Portrait of Pope Leo X with Cardinals of 1518–19 and the 1511–12 portrait of Julius II for its colouring and psychological dynamic. Titian follows the older master in some respects, emphasising the pope's age and showing him in a naturalistic, rather than reverential, setting, but Titian goes further: while Raphael's portraits show a high-minded and introspective pope, Titian presents his subject glaring outwards, caught in a moment of fearful but ruthless calculation. His piercing glare has been described by art historian Jill Dunkerton as having captured his "small bright eyes, but ... missed his genius".The canvas is dramatically divided in two by a diagonal line separated by colour and tone. The lower two-thirds are dominated by heavy red and white pigments; browns and whites are prominent in the upper right-hand section. This division is delineated by a diagonal reaching from the upper edge of the curtain down to Ottavio's leggings in the right mid-ground. Other echoes of the colours and patterns include the red of Paul's robes against the velvet of his chair and the overhanging curtain. This dramatic colour and luminosity can be in part attributed to this design, and to the manner in which Titian reverses the usual painterly technique in building tone: he began with a dark background, then layered the lighter hues before the darker passages. The effect has been described as a "tour de force of symphonic colourism", and a high point of his blending of red and ochre pigments. Titian uses a variety of brushstrokes. While the pope's robes are painted with very broad strokes, his cape (mozzetta), ageing face and visible hand were captured in minute detail with thin brushes, with his hairs rendered at the level of individual strands.
Ottavio, shown as tall and muscular, is about to kneel to kiss the Pope's feet, a contemporary manner of greeting a pope: a guest would make three short bows followed by the kissing of the papal feet. Titian indicates this step in the ceremony by showing Paul's shoe decorated with a cross, poking from underneath his gown. Ottavio's head is bowed, but his stern facial expression conveys that he is acting as protocol dictates, rather than with genuine diffidence.  Nicholas Penny notes that "... at a Renaissance court bowing and scraping were usual. This affects modern attitudes to [the portrait], making the cordial respect of youth seem like the obsequiousness of a crafty courtier."The grandsons are depicted in very different styles: Alessandro acts in a formal manner and wears clothes of similar colour and tones to Paul. Ottavio, by contrast, wears the browns of the upper right-hand passage, an area of the painting that cuts him physically from the pope. His pose is awkward and difficult to interpret, but he is rendered in a more naturalistic manner than his brother. Alessandro has a distracted, brooding expression. He holds the knob of Paul's backrest, in an echo of Raphael's portrait where Clement VII holds the chair of Leo X as an indicator of his ambitions of succession. Thus Alessandro seems better placed politically, standing to Paul's right in a pose that recalls traditional depictions of Paul the Apostle, and his hand is raised as if in blessing. In the end, Paul was unable to influence his succession after Charles V weakened the Medici hold on the office.
The work is unfinished; a number of details, most noticeably the pope's right hand, are missing. Other passages are bland and uniform, with some key areas still blocked by the underdrawing. Many of Titian's characteristic finishing touches are missing; Paul's fur-lined sleeves do not contain the polishing white strokes of the 1543 portrait, or his usual final overglaze or glossing.
Raphael Naples Titian Ottavio Julius II Portrait of Pope Leo X with Cardinals Charles V Paul the Apostle Pope Leo X memento mori Alessandro Clement VII camauro mozzetta second Naples portrait Leo X Nicholas Penny