Oil on canvas, 186cm by 102cm.
The original painting by Titian, now destroyed, was part of a fresco on the façade of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi in Venice, the headquarters from the 13th Century of the city’s German merchants and an important trading centre.
The early years of the Paduan-born Liberi’s life were extremely adventurous, including his capture and subsequent bondage at the hands of Tunisian pirates and a period fighting the Saracens as a mercenary for the Duke of Tuscany.
Once painting became his main focus, he was active mainly in Venice and the Veneto and became well known for his preference for painting lightly clad, or naked, female figures.
