This picture has always been celebrated, and it is not difficult to see why. It shows a somber, dramatic assassination scene (a bravo was a hired murderer) and the element of mystery in the situation, where we know nothing about the background or the outcome. Taking advantage of a confined space, the moment of the attack by the assassin is compacted into the interplay of opposed heads and arms. In the confusing intermeshing of gestures, we can identify the roles of the figures through the contrasts in colors. Aggressive red and black represent the assailant, soft blue and green the surprised young man. Apart from the heightened tension in the subject matter, Titian’s authorship is supported by the subtle characterization evident in the painting style, violent with pronounced light effects in the killer in the foreground, fine with a breathy Giorgionesque sfumato glaze in the background figure of the youth.
I love this painting! Such a tension can be seen here, such a drama! <3 We present today's painting thanks to Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. <3
Among the Viennese collection there is another Titian's painting which was painted fifty years after the one featured today. If you want to know more about late Titian's works read this article at DailyArt Magazine.
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