Venus of Urbino
1538 · Oil on canvas · Uffizi Gallery, Florence
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- Titian (c. 1488–1576)
- Year
- 1538
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 119 × 165 cm
- Collection
- Uffizi Gallery, Florence
- Movement
- Renaissance
A young woman, traditionally identified as Venus, lies on a white sheet on a red couch and looks directly out, holding a posy of roses; a small dog sleeps at her feet, and in the room behind two maids search in a chest for clothes. Titian was working on a painting of a woman in 1534, and in 1538 Guidobaldo II della Rovere, heir to the Duchy of Urbino, bought it; his letters refer to it simply as the nude woman. He became duke later that year, which gave the picture its name. Scholars debate whether it was meant to celebrate a marriage, with the chest of clothes a reference to the bride's trousseau, or is simply a portrait of a beautiful woman. The pose develops that of the Sleeping Venus in Dresden begun by Giorgione. It came to Florence in 1631 when Vittoria della Rovere married Ferdinando II de' Medici, and has been in the Uffizi since 1736. Manet's Olympia answered it three centuries later.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A reclining woman on white and red with a sleeping dog and two maids at a chest in a dark green and gold room, for a bedroom above the bed at 36×24 in black. A deep green, warm white or rose wall; it pairs with Olympia.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Renaissance painting
- Era
- 16th century (1538)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- intimate
- Rooms
- bedroom, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 36×24. Prints at 18×12, 24×16, 36×24 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard; 36×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Venus of Urbino in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Venus of Urbino painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
