Tiziano’s sacred and profane love shown with newly restored annunciation

The Galleria Borghese in Rome is exhibiting Tiziano Vecellio’s The Annunciation alongside his Sacred and Profane Love to mark the 450th anniversary of the artist’s death.

Both paintings feature the same model and were created within six years of each other, 1514 and 1520, allowing viewers to compare Tiziano’s techniques.

Recent restoration of The Annunciation, originally commissioned for the Cathedral of Treviso in Italy, revealed previously unseen details including the artist’s signature and the coat of arms of Broccardo Malchiostro, the patron who also appears as a small figure within the painting. Curator Maria Giovanna Sarti noted the shared use of female subjects and antique elements within the two works, including background reliefs and heraldic emblems.

The Annunciation displays an early use of non-centered perspective, featuring the Dolomites mountains in the background and an angel with three legs upon close inspection. The painting’s exhibition in Rome occurred while restorations take place on frescoes within the Malchiostro chapel in Treviso, where The Annunciation is usually displayed. Galleria Borghese director Francesca Cappelletti described the exhibition as a unique opportunity to showcase the restored painting and its newly discovered elements.

The gallery began this approach of comparing its works with those from other institutions in 2022 with a previous exhibition focused on Tiziano. Both paintings also share a poetic depiction of love, connecting to the coat of arms of Niccolò Aurelio and Laura Bigarotto, who commissioned Sacred and Profane Love for their wedding.