De-Accession Work

Titian, Woman Holding an Apple, c. 1550, oil on canvas

Titian’s Woman Holding an Apple depicts what at first seems to be a portrait of a noble woman, however the work does not show the image of anyone specific. Instead, the work depicts a woman that is meant to be beautiful, is meant to be appealing to the eyes of the male owner.

The woman is strikingly beautiful. She has dark brown eyes, a sloping nose, pink cheeks, and rouged lips. Her loose, untied hair falls upon her shoulders. She wears a long, green, bejeweled garment over a white dress. The soft lighting in this piece illuminates her beauty. The viewer is drawn to her. The woman looks at the viewer with a soft gaze.The subject of the work is painted in what would have been perceived to contemporary viewers as a state of undress. She also holds an apple, which is a symbol of female sexuality because of its relation to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, which marks her as a courtesan.

This exhibit aims to amplify the individualism of women during the Renaissance, this painting however does not depict a woman—it instead depicts the idealized version of a woman that was meant to appeal to the eyes of men. The subject of this painting is nothing more than a representation of female beauty, and does not fit in with the exhibition’s aim of highlighting women in the Renaissance as individuals, who were more than just a pretty face in an oil painting.