17TH CENTURY FOLLOWER OF TIZIANO VECELLIO, CALLED TITIAN | DANAË

Around 1544, during his brief stay in Rome, Titian painted his famous Danaë for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. That painting remained in the Palazzo Farnese, Rome, until the mid-17th century,¹ though today it is found in the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples. This successful composition found great demand on the open market, and it served to inspire a number of versions and variants by Titian's workshop, immediate circle, and followers, the present unlined canvas included.  

Titian revisited this subject throughout his career: the Danaë in the Wellington collection at Apsley house is thought to have been an early iteration painted by Titian for Philip II in circa 1549-53, and the celebrated Danaë in the Prado, datable to circa 1565, was acquired in Italy by Velazquez, entering the Spanish Royal Collection in 1634.  

1. H. Wethey, The Paintings of Titian, vol. III, London 1975, cat. no. 5.