Follower of Titian; 17th century.

Follower of TIZIANO (Pieve di Cadore, Veneto, ca. 1488/1490-Venice, 1576); Spain, 17th century.
"Ecce Homo".
Oil on canvas.
Presents restorations and Repainting.
Measurements: 70 x 55 cm; 73 x 58 cm (frame).
Of simple and clear composition, with the bust of Christ in the foreground, the absence of narrative details deepens the expressive power of the image. The marked features of this Ecce homo enhance the expressiveness of the face. The piece follows the model of Titian, which is in the collection of the Prado Museum in Madrid. As the Museum itself points out, this work enjoyed great recognition, giving rise to numerous versions of the artist and copies such as that of Domenico Molino.
Titian was born into an important family of Cadore. Around 1500-1502 he arrived in Venice, where he was part of Gentile Bellini's workshop, although he later joined that of his brother Giovanni. Around 1507, however, he became associated with Giorgione and together they decorated the facades of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, the warehouse of the German merchants in Venice; hardly anything of the original frescoes has survived. In 1511, and after the death of his colleague a year earlier, he worked at the Scuola di Sant'Antonio in Padua, painting frescoes depicting certain miracles attributed to the saint. In 1513 he refused Pietro Bembo's invitation to settle in Rome and preferred to serve the Venetian government; in fact, after the death of Giovanni Bellini in 1516, he monopolized all major public commissions. That year he painted The Tribute of the Coin (Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister) for the Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso I d'Este, who years later commissioned several works for his studio at his residence in Ferrara: Bacchus and Ariadne (London, The National Gallery), The Bacchanal of the Andrians and Offering to Venus (both in the Prado). In 1533 he was appointed Count Palatine and Knight of the Golden Spur by Charles V.