At the end of his long, prolific life, Titian was rumored to paint
directly on the canvas with his bare hands. He would slide his fingers
across bright ridges of oil paint, loosening the colors, blending,
blurring, and then bringing them together again. With nothing more than
the stroke of a thumb or the flick of a nail, Titian's touch brought the
world to life. The clinking of glasses, the clanging of swords, and the
cry of a woman's grief. The sensation of hair brushing up against naked
flesh, the sudden blush of unplanned desire, and the dry taste of fear
in a lost, shadowy place.
Titian's art, Maria H. Loh argues in this exquisitely illustrated book,
was and is a synesthetic experience. To see is at once to hear, to
smell, to taste, and to touch. But while Titian was fully attached to
the world around him, he also held the universe in his hands. Like a
magician, he could conjure appearances out of thin air. Like a
philosopher, his exploration into the very nature of things channelled
and challenged the controversial ideas of his day. But as a painter, he
created the world anew. Dogs, babies, rubies, and pearls. Falcons,
flowers, gloves, and stone. Shepherds, mothers, gods, and men. Paint,
canvas, blood, sweat, and tears. In a series of close visual
investigations, Loh guides us through the lush, vibrant world of
Titian's touch.
