Tiziano / Rubens. Venus in front of a Mirror

Rubens' inspiration was a canvas by Titian which was lost during the 19th century but which previously belonged to the Spanish royal collection. It was copied by Rubens during his period at the Court of Madrid and is known through other surviving versions. The best, and the one considered closest to the lost version, is the oil in the National Gallery of Washington (cat. nº. 2). Having the two compositions displayed side by side at the exhibition allows us to examine the different interpretative and stylistic approaches of the two artists.