How does Portrait of Charles V with a Dog elucidate its Description?
It is a copy or reinterpretation of a portrait of Karl painted in 1532 by Jakob Seisenegger. That portrait was natural but had not pleased its subject and so during his stay in Bologna in 1533 (when Titian also happened to be there) Karl paid Titian 500 ducats to paint a new version of it.
This new version is similar to its predecessor but completely transforms its composition, stylising Karl' body by increasing the size of the fur wrap, decreasing the size of the doublet, raising the position of the eyes and lowering the horizon to make Karl fill the space. He is also shown approaching the viewer and the space around him has been emptied and simplified, with warmer colours than in the original. It later inspired Goya's 1799 Charles IV in his Hunting Clothes.
Bologna Titian Charles IV in his Hunting Clothes Jakob Seisenegger