The Music Lesson

1530–1539

The young Tintoretto in Titian's workshop

According to Tom Nichols, the very young Tintoretto, brought to Titian's studio by his father, probably entered the workshop between 1530 and 1539, but only for a very brief time. According to Ridolfi, after being cast out of the studio he resolved to become a painter by studying the canvases of Titian and the reliefs of Michelangelo, and wrote on his wall the motto “Michelangelo's design and Titian's colour”.

1533

Bologna: Count Palatine and Knight of the Golden Spur

In 1533, after painting a portrait of Emperor Charles V in Bologna, Titian was made a Count Palatine and Knight of the Golden Spur; his children were reportedly also made nobles of the Empire. He was court painter to Charles V from 1533 and received from him a heavy gold chain.

1534

His father dies

Titian's father died in 1534.

1537–1538

“The Battle of Cadore”: a threat to repay the money

The battle canvas for the Doge's Palace, commissioned in 1513, remained unfinished by June 1537: according to a document dated 23 June 1537 the Council demanded he return the funds paid for the years in which he had done no work, and a serious competitor, Pordenone, who since at least 1520 had challenged Titian's primacy in Venice, was available to replace him. He completed the canvas, the “Battle of Cadore”, in 1538; it was later lost in a fire at the Doge's Palace.