Tiziano Vecellio c. 19th century

Curator: This is Jacopo Bernardi's engraving of "Tiziano Vecellio," residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. What strikes you first about it? Editor: The weight of the portrait, literally and figuratively. The subject's heaviness seems to carry the weight of tradition, of societal expectation, of patriarchal authority. Curator: Yes, there is a certain stoicism in his gaze. Bernardi, working in the 19th century, captures something timeless in the Renaissance master, Tiziano. The texture of the fur, the glint of the chain... Editor: Which begs the question, who gets memorialized in art, and why? This portrait feels like a sanctification of elite masculinity. Whose stories are we not seeing? Curator: Art is powerful; it shapes our perspectives of the world, both past and present. Editor: Exactly. We must always remember to look deeper.