Titian the now world-renowned Venetian artist was born Tiziano Vecillio in the town of Cadore in the Dolomite Mountains of Italy in 1487. When nine years old his father sent him to Venice to apprentice under Sebastiano Zuccato, a mosaicist and painter. However, Titian felt that he wasn't learning enough about painting techniques. Around 1505 he left to work in Gentile Bellini's studio. At the time Gentile Bellini was seventy years old but still the most well known painter in Venice. Still, Titian wasn't satisfied and often times thought Gentile Bellini's art boring and tedious. Titian was attracted to the freer and less academic style of Gentile Bellini's brother, Giovanni.

Emperor Maximilian of Austria invaded Italy and took the fortress of Cadore in the spring of 1508. Bad times ensued for Venetian artists, so Titian went to paint frescoes in a church in Padua with Giorgione. Giorgione significantly influenced Titian and they created several masterpieces together. After the Giorgione's death in 1510, Titian finished several of Giorgione's works-in-progress.

Soon monks asked him to paint an altarpiece of St. Mark, the saint who saved Venice from the plague. See the final piece, Titian's friends directed him to petition for a commission from the city counsel. The result was a space where a huge battle scene made of three frescos was painted in the city hall; it wasn't finished for 22 years. In 1516 with the death of Giovanni Bellini, Titian became the official painter to the Republic.

For the Frarl Church, Titian painted the altarpiece the Assumption of the Virgin. The guardian of the Church, Father German, feared the painting was too dramatic but decided to let people judge for themselves. The result was thousands of people traveling to see the picture. Titian's fame amounted and he became the leading Venetian painter.

Titian's later period was based heavily on portraiture. He received commissions from many famous people of his era including the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire- Charles V, Pope Paul III, Philip II of Spain, and other important Italian nobles. The Emperor appointed Titian court painter and gave him the rank of Count Palatine and Knight of the Golden Spur.

As Titian grew older, his eyesight began to fail and so his style changed. He painted his subjects without much detail or paint strokes. His painting

displayed an impression or suggestion that the viewer fills in. From this use of style Titian is known as the father of modern painting.

He stayed active, painting throughout his old age. Titian died of a plague sweeping Venice. He had not fled towards the mainland and instead stayed where he was. In 1576, at the age of 91 he passed away, leaving several paintings unfinished including the Pieta, which was later finished byPalma il Giovane. Palma il Giovane placed it at Titian's tomb in the Frarl Church where the Assumption of the Virgin was held.