Titian's grave in the Frari was marked by a simple floor tile until the mid-nineteenth century. At that time, in response to local patriotic sentiment, a pompous Neo-classical wall monument in the form of a triumphal arch was erected in place of the former altar of the Crucifix. Accompanied by personifications of the visual arts, flanked by a winged genius, and surrounded by reliefs representing a selection of his most famous religious masterpieces, the enthroned patriarch of Venetian painting frowns gravely at the passer-by.
|