The Resurrection of Christ by Titian is a work created by the Venetian painter between 1542 and 1544 and is still preserved at the National Gallery of the Marche.
The Resurrection of Christ by Titian was part of a processional banner commissioned to Titian by the Confraternity of Corpus Domini of Urbino.
Also included in the same banner was his Last Supper.
Although originally the two works were on the same banner, in 1545 they were separated by the painter Pietro Viti and were displayed on either side of the main altar of the church of the Confraternity.
The artwork and the patrons
As mentioned, Titian created a banner consisting of the Resurrection and the Last Supper, all commissioned by the Confraternity of Corpus Domini of Urbino.
After being created in Venice, the work arrived in Urbino and came into the possession of the Della Rovere family, one of the main patron families of Titian.
The work, after being transferred to the Marche, was detached from the banner and placed on either side of the main altar in the church of the confraternity.
Following the marriage of the last descendant of the family, Vittoria, to Ferdinando II de’ Medici, these masterpieces passed into the Florentine collections of the Medici.
Today the Resurrection is the only work remaining in Urbino originally commissioned by the Della Rovere family.
The style and characteristics
The Resurrection is divided into two parts.
In the lower area, created with oblique and broken lines that give movement and drama to the whole, the soldiers in agitation and the empty sarcophagus are depicted.
In contrast, in the upper part, the blessing Christ rises against a dawn sky, with statuary features. In the Resurrection, the dramatic effect is heightened by the intense luminism.
The figure of the Risen Christ, heroically represented above, is captured in a classical sculpture-like pose, set against the backdrop of the sunset sky.
The compositional axis is formed by the corner of the sarcophagus, which ideally extends into the figure of Jesus, whose serene statuary presence contrasts with the agitation and movement of the characters in the lower part of the painting.
