|
Ludovico Beccadelli (1501-1572) was an Italian Catholic archbishop, man of letters and writer. His portrait is one of Titian's portraiture masterpieces, painted in Venice in 1552, as documented by the letter unfolded in the hands of the bishop. It is easy to see the inscription with the artist's name and that of Ludovico Beccadelli, marked by the titles Bishop of Ravello and Apostolic Delegate in Venice, conferred by Pope Julius III.
The work was immediately praised by Pietro Aretino, in a sonnet celebrating the qualities of its likeness to the model, and the ability of Titian to convey the calm and at the same time authoritative character of the subject through his painting. Beccadelli was in fact an important personage in the circle of "spiritual leaders" or those who advocated a renewal from within the Church, during the difficult period of the Counter-Reformation.
|
