Titian's Poesies painted for Philip II of Spain
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The poesies are a series of large mythological paintings by Italian Renaissance artist Titian painted for Philip II of Spain, mostly drawn from Ovid.
Between 1554 and 1562 Titian sent to the king of Spain six mythological paintings. They are regarded as among his greatest works. Thanks to the prudishness of Philip's successors, these were later mostly given as gifts and only two remain in the Prado. Titian was producing religious works for Philip at the same time. The "poesie" series began with Venus and Adonis, of which the original is in the Prado, but several versions exist, and Danaë, both sent to Philip in 1553. Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto, were despatched in 1559, then Perseus and Andromeda (Wallace Collection, now damaged) and the Rape of Europa (Boston, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum), delivered in 1562. The Death of Actaeon was begun in 1559 but worked on for many years, and never completed or delivered.
See also
- Danaë (Titian series)
- Venus in Spain
- The Loves of the Gods
- The Ovid Room; Correggio's mythological cycle based on Ovid's Metamorphoses
- Clues, Myths, and the Historical Method#Titian, Ovid, and sixteenth-century codes for erotic illustration
