Tiziano e Ferrara: una pala giovanile ricostruita

The ‘Angel with tambourine’ (Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome), until now scarcely considered in the literature on Titian, is quite clearly an early painting by the artist close to the ‘Tobias and the Archangel Raphael’ (Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice), which, according to Vasari, was painted in 1508. The ‘Angel’ is a fragment of a larger composition, an altarpiece that was recently traced back to the Ferrara context, and in particular to a Trotti altar in the church of Santa Maria dei Servi (demolished in 1633), from which the ‘Angel’ was removed in 1613. A badly damaged ‘Madonna and Child Enthroned’, which was in the Hermitage until 1924 and is now in the Pushkin Museum, Moscow, appears to be the most likely upper fragment of the altarpiece. Simulating a reconstruction by placing one work on top of the other results in a very convincing image, confirmed by infrared examination of the ‘Angel’ which reveals the folds of a cloak that seem to match perfectly those of the ‘Madonna’. An early altarpiece by Titian in Ferrara induces a reconsideration of his association with the city and the Este court, which is documented only from 1516 onwards. The work seems to have had a certain influence on the Ferrara art scene of the early 16th century, echoes of it being identifiable in some altarpieces by Nicolò Pisano and in the early work of Dosso Dossi.