In history, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese are often linked.
These renowned painters all lived in Venice, with careers that overlapped for 40 years. Literally, they couldn't walk down a block or paddle down a canal without seeing each other's work.
These men weren't friends. They were bitter rivals, competing for the same clients and commissions. They would undermine each other's work, and treated each painting as a chance to show their own superiority.
For the first time in nearly 500 years, many of their masterpieces are reunited with "Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice" at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The show opens Sunday.
"Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese created a 'Venetian style,' inspired by the counterpoint that arose as one artist responded on canvas to another," said Malcolm Rogers, the director of the MFA. "Fueled by the constant vying for patronage, prestige and financial rewards, theirs was a highly charged, personal relationship that resulted in some of the greatest paintings of the Italian Renaissance."
The MFA teamed up with France's renowned Musée du Louvre in Paris for the show, which is on view here until Aug. 16. In September, the show will travel to the Louvre, where it will remain through January 2010.
"At a time when other museums are curtailing their international exhibitions, we are proud to be showing some of the greatest paintings in the world," Rogers said.
This is the first major exhibition dedicated to the competition of Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. The show explores their signature styles and reveals the influences they had on each other by grouping their paintings thematically, from portraits to biblical scenes and nudes.
"Although 40 years separate the birth of Titian from that of Veronese, the careers of the three painters overlapped for almost four decades, and the eloquent record of their artistic dialogue is most apparent when we consider, side by side, the powerful canvases each produced," said Frederick Ilchman, the exhibition curator in Boston.
There are 56 pieces in the show, most lent by major museums in Europe like the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice and the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. Some paintings were restored especially for the exhibition devised by Ilchman along with Jean Habert and Vincent Delieuvin at the Louvre.
"These are paintings that haven't been together for centuries," Ilchman said.
"Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice" is divided into seven sections. The first starts with Titian — the oldest of the three rivals. He came of age as painting in Venice was changing, from a medium on wood to a medium of oils on canvas.
The second section shows off the three painters' styles — so distinct that they rarely signed their work. Titian was known for his use of bright colors and focused brush style. Tintoretto was more of a loose painter who often worked with earth tones. Veronese — a student of Titian's — emulated his teacher's brush style, but used more pastels in his paintings.
A third section — set up to emulate a church — shows how each artist tackled sacred themes, from a racy temptation of St. Anthony to the Supper at Emmaus. Other sections include female nudes, portraiture and the later-in-life styles of these artists.
They died within a few decades of each other. The final room of the show reveals how each artists' work started to reflect their rivals'.
"We see them as old masters. But this was the contemporary art (of its time)," Ilchman said, adding that these pieces were talked about and dissected by critics in their day. "What we are trying to do is re-create that exciting discourse and debate about art."
A&E; BLOG: Click for more images from MFA show.If you go
What: "Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice,"
When: March 15 to Aug. 16
Where: Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston
How: Members admitted free. Adult tickets cost $25. Tickets for seniors/students cost $23. Tickets for children ages 7 to 17 cost $9.50. Children under 7 admitted free. Available by visiting the MFA's box office, the Web site mfa.org, or by calling 800-440-6975.
Hours: Open seven days a week. Saturday through Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.
