We took a detour on our way to the Vermeer exhibition in Amsterdam to stop into Venice for a day.  And when in Venice…I have to go see Titian’s Pesaro Madonna at the Frari.

Ir’s one of my favorite paintings, with such a tight composition that it could be hewn out of stone. In fact, it does feel sculptural to me, with a mass of figures and fabric, all rising from the base. Titian masterfully leads your eye around the painting, up the triangle of figures and back down and around again. Mary will forever look downwards towards St. Peter, and that Pesaro boy will forever look outwards at us from the bottom right corner, turning the viewers into voyeurs.

Of course, there were also some St. Sebastian sightings around town, and plenty of hands and feet, not to mention gold leaf.