WORKSHOP OF TIZIANO VECELLIO, CALLED TITIAN | Danaë

Possibly Gonzaga Castle at Novellara;
Acquired by Francois Raymond, agent of Napolean's army in Italy, in 1796-1797;
Princess Galitzine (this and the above according to Suida 1935, p. 17), by 1885;
Possibly Russian Corporation, New York, 1920;
Lucerne Art trade, 1935;
Ernst Plancha, Lucerne, 1962;
Acquired by the family of the present owner circa 1970. 

Academia de San Fernando, Madrid, 1877 (according to Suida 1935, p. 175).

W. Suida, Le Titien, Paris 1935, pp. 117-118, 175, reproduced, plate 211 (as Titian);
H. Wethey, The Paintings of Titian, vol. III, London 1975, p. 210, cat. no. X-11. 

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work has not been recently restored, and it would notably benefit from proper restoration. The canvas has a very old lining. The paint layer is unstable, and there are visible losses in and around the shower of gold and in the upper left. There is visible thinness in the head of Danaë, and in the right leg extending into the crimson fabric behind the legs. There are existing restorations, some of which are visible under ultraviolet light. For example, there are retouches in the curtain in the upper left, in an area in the hip of Danae measuring approximately 6 inches by 1 inch, and in her left foot. However, the picture is mostly unrestored. The lining should be replaced in order to consolidate the paint layer, and the thinness and losses should be carefully retouched.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This grand Danaë takes as its departure point Titian’s famous original, datable to 1544, painted for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese during the artist's brief and only visit to Rome (1544-5). It was to remain in the Palazzo Farnese, Rome, until the mid 17^th century (see H. Wethey 1975, cat. no. 5) and is now in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples. Titian later revisited the subject. The Danaë in the Wellington collection at Apsley House is now considered to be the version painted by Titian for Philip II in circa 1549–53, as the first in his great set of six mythological paintings (the ‘poesie’), while the celebrated picture of the same subject at the Prado, now dated 1565, was acquired in Italy by Velázquez, entering the Spanish Royal Collection in 1634. With these two groundbreaking canvases, Titian ushered in a taste for sensuous female nudes that perfectly encapsulated the Venetian tradition for warm color, soft contours, and a celebration of dynamic paint application. It comes as little surprise then that this particular composition found great demand on the open market, and numerous sixteenth century versions or variants executed by the Titian workshop and his immediate circle are recorded. The present example is a particularly impressive example, which in this case follows most closely the Naples original, while omitting Cupid.