Volume 56, Number 3 · February 26, 2009
How to Paint Like Titian
By James Fenton
Benjamin West and the Venetian Secret
an exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, September 18, 2008–January 4, 2009.
Catalog of the exhibition edited by Julie Lavorgna, with text by Angus Trumble and Mark Aronson. Yale Center for British Art, 73 pp., n.p.
The affair of the Venetian Secret was renowned in the 1790s as a notorious and revealing swindle. It involved an obscure functionary of the royal household in London; the president of the Royal Academy, Benjamin West; and several of the leading artists of the time. Thomas Provis, a sweeper, and his artistically inclined daughter managed to mesmerize West into believing that they had acquired a secret recipe or method that would enable the possessor to paint like Titian and his contemporaries. In return for imparting the secret, they hoped to secure their financial future.
Review, 4305 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |