One of histories greatest painters of flesh was the 16^th-century Venetian painter, Tiziano Vecellio; widely known as Titian. As is characteristic of Venetian artists, Titian excelled in his use of color and form through the build up of layers in the paintings. Even the very best of them all, Michelangelo Buonarroti, admired his handling and use of color; although Michelangelo was not at all impressed with his drawing ability. Titian's works were largely created on canvas with oil paints. He was one of the first artists to move from painting on wood to canvas. The first step in paint was applying a dark red stain onto the canvas. Then a build up of monochrome under painting and transparent color glazes are added. Then a series of thirty to forty finish coats are applied.

Titian began his career as the student of Sebastian Zuccato, a mosaic artist, at the age of ten. He then went on, five years later to study under the brothers, Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, who were locally known painters. This is where he began to develop his highly personal painting style. This was depicted through his loose brushwork and subtle tones. He was always one that strived to reach perfection in his paintings.

Titian had clients that ranged from churches and governments to nobles and aristocrats. His reputation excelled him to become the court painter of the King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. In fact, he was the only painter allowed to paint the Emperor.

Creating portraits of nobles, kings and aristocrats was Titian's calling card. By becoming known in these high status circles, he developed an international clientele. Titian had several patrons, but none more consistent or more beneficial to his art than the Habsburg family, the family linked with the Spanish monarchy, who he had work for over forty years. Over this time, he developed a system to create formal portraits where the sitter is depicted in life size and framed by curtains or architectural elements that draw attention to the majestic and expressionless face or the sitter. Although not as known as Rembrandt van Rijn or Diego Velásquez, his portraits stack up with the very best of all time. Most artists will resort to the occasional self portrait, even if for no other reason than as an exercise in skill development or experimentation. My favorite Titian Self-Portrait was the one he created in 1566. With his powerful profile that pops from the dark corners of his dimly lit studio. The work was later sold to Peter Paul Rubens and then bought for the Spanish Collection in the Prado, where I got to see the work in 2010.

Another example of his paintings of the higher classes people is his Portrait of a Lady.

As Titian got older and closer to the end of his life, he became more obsessed with his work. He was so self critical that he managed to finish only a handful of works. Some were worked and reworked for upwards of ten years. He would work several canvases at one time and meticulously critique each one before it was considered finished. Due in part to his high standards, his art never diminished in quality and died a very respected and very wealthy artist. Because of this very noble end, Titian took the artist's profession from being seen as a labor craft to a status of a respected profession. He was very good at diplomacy.