TIZIANO Vecellio
(b. 1490, Pieve di Cadore, d. 1576, Venezia)

The Annunciation

c. 1519
Oil on wood, 179 x 207 cm
Cappella di Malchiostro, Duomo, Treviso

The interesting spatial composition of this picture was undoubtedly Titian's own idea, as is the treatment of the figure of Mary, who is wearing a wonderfully draped garment with wide folds, made of a heavy lustrous silk. Numerous scholars have expressed their doubts about the figure of the angel and the kneeling donor Broccardo Malchiostro. In 1526, the citizens of Treviso, animated by a strong dislike of Malchiostro and outrage that he should have had himself so obviously portrayed in an altarpiece — something that was not customary in either Venice or Treviso — smeared pitch across the painting, and the work had to be renovated.