Monks

Domenico Campagnola (ca 1500–1564) (?) after Titian

Ca 1517. Pen and ink drawing.

The pen and ink drawing depicting two Franciscan monks is a copy-fragment of the woodcut frieze composition “The Triumph of Christ” (1515–1517) by Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, ca 1488/1490–1576), the Venetian Renaissance master. On the basis of stylistic analysis, many experts of Italian Renaissance drawings have attributed the drawing to the 16th-century Venetian painter and printmaker Domenico Campagnola. He was not actually a pupil of Titian, but he was closely connected with Titian’s studio. Through his step-father Giulio Campagnola (ca 1482–1515), who engraved a number of Titian’s prints and was highly appreciated as an engraver, Domenico had access to Titian’s studio and the opportunity to study his art first hand. Titian’s art was definitely the most important source of inspiration for Campagnola’s early works. In making the drawing “Monks”, Campagnola was driven by the wish to learn from great masters; it is difficult to say whether the work was based on the preparatory drawing for the print or on the actual printed woodcut. As the image and reception of artists changed, drawings became a valuable trophy for 16th-century Italian art collectors as the preliminary and most immediate examples of an artist’s means of expression. As a result, several copies by Campagnola were presented as Titian’s originals.