Sacred and profane love

Sacred and profane love
(1514; Rome, Galleria Borghese)
   The Sacred and Profane Love is an allegorical painting rendered by Titian that relates compositionally to the Fête Champetre (c. 1510; Louvre, Paris) by Giorgione, his teacher. Until recently, the work was interpreted solely as a Neoplatonic allegory of the superiority of sacred over profane love, with both women representing Venus—the one nude denoting pure celestial love and her clothed counterpart earthly sexuality. Scholarship on gender issues has revealed the implications offered by certain elements Titian included, which has led to the conclusion that the work was commissioned to celebrate a marriage. The coat of arms of Niccoló Aurelio, vice-chancellor of the Venetian Republic, on the sarcophagus by the two women identifies him as the groom, while the heraldry on the plate directly above it is that of his bride, Laura Bagarotto. Also, the clothed Venus wears the traditional Venetian white satin wedding gown with red sleeves and belt. Her loose hair and myrtles were part of the wedding attire, while the vessel she holds is a wedding casket used to collect monetary gifts. The rabbits that dot the distant landscape are symbols of fertility and the hope for children, crucial to a society where the high child mortality rate sometimes precluded the continuation of the family.

Historical dictionary of Renaissance art. . 2008.

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  • Sacred and Profane Love — This article is on the painting. There is also a novel of this name by Arnold Bennett. Infobox Painting| image size=400px title=Sacred and Profane Love artist=Titian year=c. 1513 1514 type=Oil on canvas height=118 width=279 city=Rome… …   Wikipedia

  • Sacred-profane dichotomy — The dichotomy between the sacred and the profane has been identified by French sociologist Émile Durkheim as the central characteristic of religion: religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things , that is to say …   Wikipedia

  • Sacred–profane dichotomy — French sociologist Émile Durkheim considered the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane to be the central characteristic of religion: religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things… …   Wikipedia

  • profane — adj 1 Profane, secular, lay, temporal mean not dedicated or set apart for religious ends or uses. Profane specifically implies an opposition to sacred (see HOLY) in this sense it is purely descriptive and not derogatory; thus, profane history is… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Sacred — ground redirects here. For the Star Trek: Voyager episode, see Sacred Ground (Star Trek: Voyager). Sanctity redirects here. For other uses, see Sanctity (disambiguation). Holy redirects here. For other uses, see Holy (disambiguation). For other… …   Wikipedia

  • Sacred — Sa cred, a. [Originally p. p. of OE. sacren to consecrate, F. sacrer, fr. L. sacrare, fr. sacer sacred, holy, cursed. Cf. {Consecrate}, {Execrate}, {Saint}, {Sexton}.] 1. Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; especially, in a good sense, made… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sacred baboon — Sacred Sa cred, a. [Originally p. p. of OE. sacren to consecrate, F. sacrer, fr. L. sacrare, fr. sacer sacred, holy, cursed. Cf. {Consecrate}, {Execrate}, {Saint}, {Sexton}.] 1. Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; especially, in a good sense …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sacred bean — Sacred Sa cred, a. [Originally p. p. of OE. sacren to consecrate, F. sacrer, fr. L. sacrare, fr. sacer sacred, holy, cursed. Cf. {Consecrate}, {Execrate}, {Saint}, {Sexton}.] 1. Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; especially, in a good sense …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sacred beetle — Sacred Sa cred, a. [Originally p. p. of OE. sacren to consecrate, F. sacrer, fr. L. sacrare, fr. sacer sacred, holy, cursed. Cf. {Consecrate}, {Execrate}, {Saint}, {Sexton}.] 1. Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; especially, in a good sense …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sacred canon — Sacred Sa cred, a. [Originally p. p. of OE. sacren to consecrate, F. sacrer, fr. L. sacrare, fr. sacer sacred, holy, cursed. Cf. {Consecrate}, {Execrate}, {Saint}, {Sexton}.] 1. Set apart by solemn religious ceremony; especially, in a good sense …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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