One of the greatest artists of the Renaissance, Tiziano Vecellio, otherwise known as Titian, died on

One of the greatest artists of the Renaissance, Tiziano Vecellio, otherwise known as Titian, died on this day in 1576 in Venice. Here are two portraits of Cardinal Filippo Archinto [ (1) @metmuseum (2) @philamuseum ]

I feel very lucky to have access to these two remarkable portraits of the same man, the exceptional politician and clergyman, Filippo Archinto, so close to home. I was enthralled as soon as I saw the unusual portrait with a translucent curtain obstructing the Cardinal’s face at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. If one isn’t already in love with Titian, this portrait alone could make one a convert. So, who was this mystery man Titian depicted so enticingly…

According to the Met Gallery Label:

The Milanese Filippo Archinto was a remarkable politician and cleric active in the mid-sixteenth century, supporting Saint Ignatius Loyola and attending the Council of Trent. He was painted by Titian when in Venice as papal nuncio between 1553 and 1556. Archinto was confirmed as Archbishop of Milan but local intrigue worthy of the stage kept him from his chair and he died in exile in neighboring Bergamo. Titian’s sober yet painterly portrait of Arcinto shows him at the height of his power in the mid-1550s. A related version in the Philadelphia Museum of Art depicts the cleric covered with a white veil, an unusual addition that may refer to the trials of is later life.