King Francis I of France

Titian's Portrait of King Francis I of France, painted in 1538 and now in the Bavarian State Painting Collections, was created entirely from a medal by Benvenuto Cellini — Titian never met Francis I. The painting's existence demonstrates a remarkable aspect of his reputation: that European rulers who could not travel to Venice or arrange for Titian to visit their courts were nonetheless eager to be painted by him, and that working from secondary sources was considered preferable to commissioning any other living painter. Francis I was the great rival of Charles V and the patron of Leonardo da Vinci, who died in his arms at Amboise in 1519; his cultural ambitions and his appetite for Italian art made him a natural aspirant to Titian's portraiture, even if the constraints of politics and geography prevented a direct sitting. The resulting profile portrait, based on Cellini's medal, was less psychologically penetrating than Titian's direct portraits precisely because the source material denied him access to the living face.

Despite working from a medal rather than life, Titian creates a convincing portrait of regal authority, translating the profile format into a vivid three-dimensional presence through warm color and subtle modeling.