Titian, whose name in Italian is Tiziano Vecellio, is considered to have been the greatest 16th-century Venetian painter, and the shaper of the Venetian coloristic and painterly tradition. He is one of the key figures in the history of Western art.

The first documented reference to Titian dates from 1508, when he was commissioned to paint frescoes. Unfortunately, these early frescoes survive only in ruined fragments and scholars disagree as to which paintings dating from the first decade of the 16th century were actually painted by Titian.

In 1511, Titian executed frescoes of three Miracles of St. Anthony for the Scuola del Santo. These frescoes show Titian's his power to use his figures to convey a convincing sense of an anguished, impulsive life. He realistically conceived events within vividly and rather impressionistically realized landscapes. In later paintings of this decade Titian's style progressively showed bodies and fabrics in an increasingly sensuous density and splendor.

Throughout his life, Titian's work imporved with age. He produced an enormous body of work during his life and died in Venice in 1576.

His work permanently affected the course of European painting. His Florentine tradition championed that of Michelangelo and Raphael.

His innovative approach was also eagerly taken up by Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velázquez, Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix and the Impressionists.

In its own right,Titians' paintings attain the very highest reach of human achievement in the visual arts.