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 conspicuous examples in the Venetian Academy, yet not of the first interest or importance. About 1540 were done the forcible but rather uninspired paintings for S. Spirito, Venice, now in the church of the Salute—“Cain Killing Abel,” the “Sacrifice of Abraham” and “David and Goliath”; in 1543 the “Ecce Homo” of the Vienna Gallery, where Aretino figures as Pilate. The “Venus and Cupid” of Florence, the “Venus” of Madrid and the “Supper of Emmaus” in the Louvre were still in hand, or just completed, when Titian was summoned to Augsburg in 1547. In 1554 he sent to Philip II. in England a second “Danae” and a “Venus and Adonis.” About the same time he sent to Charles V. a “Trinity” (or, as Titian himself termed it, “Last Judgment”), which represented the emperor, with his family and others, all in shrouds, praying to the Godhead; Moses and various other personages are also portrayed. This was the object upon which Charles continued to keep his eyes fixed until the film of death closed on them. Later pictures, from 1558 onwards, are the “Martyrdom of St Lawrence,” “Christ Crowned with Thorns” (Louvre), “Diana and Actaeon,” “Diana and Callisto,” “Jupiter and Antiope,” the “Magdalene,” “Christ in the Garden,” and “Europa”—the last six for Philip II.; of the two Diana subjects there are duplicates in London and in Vienna. Philip, it will be observed, was equally au fait with nudities and with sanctitics. The “Jupiter and Antiope,” now much restored, is commonly called “La Venus del Pardo," having at first been in the Pardo Palace. The “Magdalene” here spoken of (1561) seems to be the picture now in the Uffizi of Florence; Titian, in one of his letters, said that it was the most popular picture he had ever painted. In 1563 Vecelli offered to Philip II. his “Last Supper,” which had been in hand for six years; it was cut down in the Escorial to suit a particular space, and offers now little noticeable beyond the fine grouping. The “St Jerome” of the Brera Gallery in Milan, a work of wonderful energy, spirit and force, especially for a more than octogenarian hand, was probably rather earlier than this; there is a replica of it in the Escorial. One of the master’s latest pictures (1574–1575) is in Madrid, and commemorates the “Battle of Lepanto "; it is a work of failing power—but still the power of a Titian. Two of the mosaics in St Mark’s church, Venice—the Mark in pontifical and the sword-sheathing angel on the right of the high altar—are after Vecelli’s designs; but they are contrary to the true spirit of mosaic work, and the Mark in especial is a decided eyesore.

We now turn to the portraits—works so great in style, so stately, and in the best sense so simple in perception and feeling that, after allowing everything which can be said on behalf of some other masters of the craft, such as Raphael, Velazquez, Rubens and Rembrandt, one is still compelled to say that Titian stands on the whole supreme. Among the highest examples are—Alphonso, duke of Ferrara (Madrid), the same duke and his second wife Laura Dianti (Louvre), commonly called “Titian and his Mistress”; Francis I. (Louvre), painted towards 1536, but not from direct sittings, for Titian never saw the French king; various likenesses of himself, one of about 1542, and another of 1562; Paul III., also the same pope with his grandsons Cardinal Alessandro and duke Ottavio (Naples)—the former, done in about four weeks, was presented to the pontiff in May 1543 and cost two gold ducats; Pietro Aretino (Pitti); Titian’s daughter Lavinia (with a fan in the Dresden Gallery, with a jewelled casket in Lord Cowper’s collection); the Cornaro Family (Alnwick Castle); “L'Homme au Gant” (Louvre), an unknown personage, youthful and handsome, the ne plus ultra of portraiture; Sansovino Eleonora duchess of Urbino, Francesco duke of Urbino, Caterina Cornaro queen of Cyprus (these four are in the Uffizi); Charles V. on horseback (Madrid); Cardinal Bembo (Naples), discovered in an uncared-for condition in 1878, very unlike the portrait in the Barberini Gallery. The female portraits done by Titian are few, and are almost invariably of women of exalted rank. Of Ariosto, with whom Titian was intimate in Ferrara, though there may probably have been nothing approaching to a romantic friendship between them, the painter is said to have done three portraits. Much uncertainty, however, besets this matter. One of the three appears as a woodcut in an edition of the Orlando furioso. A second, formerly at Cobham Hall, corresponds with the woodcut likeness, and is signed “Titianus F.”—a work of admirable beauty; it is now in the National Gallery of London. It is difficult, however, to reconcile the features here with those which appear in some other portraits of Ariosto. There is also in the gallery another and singularly beautiful portrait which used to be called “Ariosto” by Titian, then was assumed to be an “Unknown Poet” by Palma Vecchio; it is now again attributed to Titian, but not as representing Ariosto.

.—For English readers, the Life and Times of Titian by Crowe and Cavalcaselle (1877) superseded all previous works, such as those of Sir Abraham Hume (1829) and Northcote (1830). There is now also the translation (1904) of the monumental German work (1900) by George Gronau, which may be regarded as taking the first place of all. Claude Phillips has brought out two valuable books (1897 and 1898) on the earlier and the later work of Titian, which should be consulted on controversial details. Josiah Gilbert’s book, Cadore, or Titian’s Country (1869), supplies many interesting side-lights on the subject. R. F. Heath’s monograph (1885) is founded mainly on Crowe and Cavalcaselle and on Gilbert, and forms a very convenient compendium.

 TITLE (O. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. tilulus), an inscription prefixed to a book or other writing, designating the name by which it is to be known, and in many cases indicating the scope of the book or some idea of the nature of its contents. Further, the term is extended to the descriptive heading or caption to a document, such as a deed or other instrument, or to a bill or act of parliament. Another general meaning is that of an appellation of rank (see, and the articles , , , , , , &c.). In law “title” is equivalent to right of ownership. The instruments in writing forming the evidences of the title to land are the title-deeds (see ; ). In ecclesiastical usage, the word “title” (tilulus) are used of certain churches in Rome to which districts were attached, their history being of importance in the evolution of the Roman cardinal ate (see ). It was also used, as now, for a condition precedent to ordination, in the early Roman Church an appointment to officiate in a particular church; this was extended gradually from the idea of locality to that of evidence of means of support. In the Church of England the candidate must have “some certain place where he can exercise his function”; for deacon’s orders he must have a nomination to a curacy, and for priest’s orders either that or a presentation to a. living. A fellowship or chaplaincy at the university of Oxford or Cambridge is also a sufficient “title.”,

TITLE GUARANTEE COMPANIES, the name given to companies which apply the principle of corporate indemnity to the protection of those interested in real estate titles, either as owners or lenders. They are of the class of indemnity companies in which technical skill and experience in investigation of risks are relied upon to protect the guarantor from loss. They are peculiar to countries where the title to real estate is a matter of public record, and where the complexity of the record and the variety of possible liens and encumbrances have made it difficult and expensive to determine whether the title is good. The only country where they have reached large proportions or achieved success as independent business enterprises is the United States. In Australia no investigation of a title to real estate is necessary, because before the land passed into individual ownership the government adopted a system of state registration and guarantee of title, so that its certificate of registered title was universally accepted. In certain other countries there is neither registration of title nor recording of deeds; the title-deeds are preserved and passed from owner to owner, and are accepted on the authority of the records and opinions of family solicitors. In the United States, however, there have been from the beginning acts providing that all deeds and mortgages be recorded, and the records, when properly made, constitute legal notice to all the world of their contents and claims. At the same time, there are other records of wills, suits, judgments, taxes and mechanics' claims which may encumber the title. In the great cities these various records became in course of time so voluminous that the proper investigation of them, and the determination of the validity of the title in view of them, required the best skill of an experienced lawyer and involved very heavy expenses. On a re-sale of the property the new buyer did not rely upon the lawyer who had made the examination for the seller, but felt called upon to employ and pay his own lawyer, who had to go over the same work again, and more, for with each new transaction the history was getting longer. The delay and expense involved were great, and yet the owner had little or no protection, for a lawyer is not held to guarantee the correctness of his opinion.

The first legislative grant of corporate authority to guarantee titles to real estate was included in the charter of the New York Guaranty and Indemnity Company, a trust company incorporated in New York by act of the legislature in 1864; but the power to guarantee titles was never exercised. In 1869 the Real Estate Assurance Company of the City of New York was chartered with the sole object of insuring the validity of titles, but was never organized. In 1871 a pamphlet was issued by a member of the New York bar, calling attention to the business carried on by the Prussian Mortgage Insurance Company of Berlin, and outlining plans very similar to those now followed by the principal title guarantee