Titian's Hidden Double Portrait: Unveiled After 500 Years

- Blurb -

The incredible history of A Lady and her Daughter by Titian. This book recounts the fascinating history of Titian's unfinished portrait, A Lady and her Daughter (possibly his mistress Milia and their daughter), which dates from the early 1550s. After Titian's death in 1576, it was repainted in his studio with a more saleable image of Tobias and the Angel. Often presented as Titian's work but in a style which made the attribution suspect, the painting has had a succession of owners. It belonged to Tsar Nicholas I for a short time, and ultimately to the art dealer Rene Gimpel, who hid it with other artwork in a warehouse in London during World War II, where it miraculously survived the Blitz. It was not until the mid-20th century that an x-ray examination uncovered the beautiful painting underneath, an undisputed work by the great master himself. The painstaking restoration process, begun in 1983, took 20 years. Notable art historians and conservators have contributed essays that offer an in-depth examination of this exceptional and mysterious painting. AUTHORS: Larry Keith is the Head of the Conservation Department, and has managerial responsibility for Art Handling, Framing and Collection Registrars. Jaynie Louise Anderson FAHA, OSI is an Australian art historian, writer and curator of exhibitions, who is renowned for her publications and exhibitions on Giorgione and Venetian painting. SELLING POINT: Recounts the astonishing story of this lost Titian masterpiece, now on view in Venice for the first time since its restoration 140 colour, 30 b/w images