Mythological paintings (poesie) for Philip II (1553-62)

Titian painted for Philip II several mythological scenes and allegories with strong erotic elements. In his letters to Philip, Titian described these works as 'poesie' and 'favole', vague terms that can be roughly translated as 'poetic inventions' and 'fables', respectively. The terms have several implications: that the pictures had a literary source, that painting and poetry made the same creative demands, and that the artist - like the poet - was entitled to a certain license in the interpretation of his sources. The subjects of these pantheistic works are drawn chiefly from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

The first of the poesie sent to Philip in 1554, Danaë with a Nurse, was a more explicitly sensual version of the Danaë in Naples (1544). Its pendant, Venus and Adonis, was dispatched to the king in London in 1554 at the time of his wedding. Titian also mentioned in his letter two accompanying paintings, Perseus and Andromeda, and Jason and Medea, however, the latter was planned but never completed.

Two of Titian's best-loved poesie are Diana and Acteon, and Diana and Callisto, sent to Spain late in 1559 and today in Edinburgh. In their variety of pose, iridescent sensuality and rich colorism on a limited palette, they set an example to generations of artists from Rubens and Velázquez to Watteau and Delacroix.

In the years following the execution of the two celebrated mythological paintings, the Diana and Callisto, and the Diana and Actaeon, Titian painted other mythological paintings for Philip II, including the Rape of Europa (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston), the Death of Actaeon (National Gallery, London), and Perseus and Andromeda (Wallace Collection, London). The best preserved of the poesie and the finest Titian in America is the Rape of Europa, sent to Spain in 1562.

Titian's connection with Philip II continued right up to the painter's final days. Amongst the last pictures sent to Spain was the Tarquin and Lucretia, now in Cambridge.