The Vendramin Family

The family directs its attention towards a small object on an altar. This is a reliquary, a precious container for fragments said to come from Christ’s Cross. The adults and children gather around it as both worshippers and members of one household. Titian painted the Vendramin family around 1540–45. The two men are probably the brothers Andrea and Gabriel, accompanied by Andrea’s seven sons. An earlier member of the family had received the relic in 1369 on behalf of a Venetian religious brotherhood. Its custody formed part of the family’s standing in the city. The picture was made for the Vendramin palace, probably for its main reception hall. It would have presented their devotion and ancestry to people entering their home. The association with the relic helped tell visitors who the family were. Compare the boys’ different ages and poses with the adults’ more settled bearing. The group developed during painting, with some children added later. Titian brings several generations together around an object whose history reaches much farther back.