Sacred and Profane Love

Two women sit at either end of a carved Roman sarcophagus brimming with water, a small cupid stirring it between them: one richly gowned, the other almost nude with a flaming red cloak. By long tradition they are the twin Venuses of Neoplatonic thought, earthly and heavenly love - though, against expectation, it is the bare figure who stands for the sacred, beauty unadorned. A later title fixed a meaning the painting leaves open. Young Titian, heir to Bellini and Giorgione, floods it with golden light, glowing flesh, and idyllic countryside; it was very likely painted to mark a marriage.