The elderly Titian's final years are marked by the anguish of personal tragedy. The year 1556 saw the death of his close friend of thirty years, Pietro Aretino. In 1558 Charles V died in the solitude of the monastery of St Yuste; sentiments of gratitude and respect had long bound Titian to his old patron. A year later his brother Francesco died — a trusted and unobtrusive collaborator on countless painting projects. The effect these losses had on Titian is clear in some of his letters to Philip II but his paintings remain the most eloquent testimony of his distress in these years.

Preview	Picture Data	Info
	St Jerome 1570-75 Oil on canvas, 138 x 97 cm Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
	St Jerome c. 1575 Oil on canvas, 184 x 177 cm Monasterio de San Lorenzo, El Escorial
	Mocking of Christ 1570-75 Oil on canvas, 109 x 92 cm Art Museum, Saint Louis
	Christ Carrying the Cross 1570-75 Oil on canvas, 67 x 77 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Philip II Offering Don Fernando to Victory before 1575 Oil on canvas, 325 x 274 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	Spain Succouring Religion c. 1575 Oil on canvas, 168 x 168 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
	St Sebastian c. 1575 Oil on canvas, 212 x 116 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg
	Crowning with Thorns 1572-76 Oil on canvas, 280 x 181 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich
	View of the Sala delle Quattro Porte 1575-76 Oil on canvas Palazzo Ducale, Venice
	Doge Antonio Grimani Kneeling Before the Faith 1575-76 Oil on canvas, 365 x 500 cm Palazzo Ducale, Venice
	Doge Antonio Grimani Kneeling Before the Faith (detail) 1575-76 Oil on canvas Palazzo Ducale, Venice
	Doge Antonio Grimani Kneeling Before the Faith (detail) 1575-76 Oil on canvas Palazzo Ducale, Venice
	Doge Antonio Grimani Kneeling Before the Faith (detail) 1575-76 Oil on canvas Palazzo Ducale, Venice
	Pietà 1576 Oil on canvas, 352 x 349 cm Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
	Pietà (detail) 1576 Oil on canvas Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice