Tizian / Titian / Tiziano, Die Madonna mit dem Kaninchen - The Madonna of the Rabbi - Madonna del Coniglio - Detail

            Tiziano / Tizian / Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), Pieve di Cadore um 1485/90 - Venedig 1576
Madonna mit dem Kaninchen oder Madonna mit dem Kind, der heiligen Katharina sowie einem Hirten / Madonna of the Rabbit aka Madonna with the Child, St. Catherina and a Shephard / 
Madonna del coniglio / Madonna con Santa Catherina d'Alessandria  e un pastore (ca. 1530)
Musée du Louvre, Paris
 
In a landscape of the Venetian countryside, with the Alps in the distance, several figures are gathered around a food basket as if they are enjoying a light meal. The woman in the center wearing a red dress and blue cloak is easily identifiable as the Virgin Mary. She is stroking a rabbit while looking at her son, Jesus Christ who is being held up to her by a woman whose clothes and hair are in the style of the Renaissance. To the right, in the background, is a man tending sheep. In this work, Titian has painted a religious subject as if it were a scene from daily life, imbued with naturalness and intimacy. 
 
In this painting, Titian’s artistry lies in the subtle evocation of a religious theme. The Virgin in her red dress and blue cloak and the Infant Jesus are fairly easy to recognize, but it would perhaps be useful to identify the other figures and the objects. The elegant woman dressed like a 16th-century married Venetian woman is Catherine of Alexandria, a 4th-century martyred saint who in a vision was married to Christ. She is kneeling on a wheel, the instrument of her martyrdom. In Christian liturgy, that which is sacred cannot be held with bare hands. The white cloth in which Catherine holds the child emphasizes the idea of holiness. 
 
In the basket of food can be seen the apple, symbol of Eve’s sin, the bunch of grapes representing the wine of the Eucharist and the blood of Christ. The strawberry underneath Saint Catherine is traditionally represented as one of the fruits of paradise. In antiquity it was thought that the rabbit could reproduce without sexual intercourse. So here the rabbit is an allusion to the Virgin’s virginity and the conception of Christ without sin, its whiteness an assertion of purity. 
 
The shepherd playing the panpipes conjures up the world of antiquity. Placed in the middle ground, he evokes the concept dear to Renaissance artists of Christianity replacing the pagan golden age and redeeming humanity. 
 
Source: Musée du Louvre, Paris

Taken in: France / Île-de-France / Paris / Quartier Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois (show map)

Taken on: February 20, 2019

Tags:

Städel

Frankfurt

Tiziano

Titian

Tiziano Vecellio

Renaissance

Madonna mit dem Kaninchen

Madonna of the Rabbit

Madonna del coniglio

Musée du Louvre

Paris

hl. Katharine von Alexandria

St. Catherine of Alexandria

Santa Caterina d'Alessandria « less

Sets appears in: • Frankfurt, Städel, Tizian und die Renaissance in Venedig (Titian and the Renaissance at Venice) 2019 • Painters of Italy more » • Paintings - Tizian / Titian /Tiziano • Paris, Musée du Louvre « less

Camera: Sony DSLR-A100, f/2.0, 1/25 sec, 50mm (=75mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony DSLR-A100
Aperture:	f/2.0
Exposure Time:	0.04 sec (1/25)
Focal Length:	50mm (35mm equivalent: 75mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	DSLR-A100 v1.04
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