Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle

As a portraitist, Titian was admired by his contemporaries both for bringing his sitters to life as individuals and for successfully evoking their social or professional status. In this example, the controlled refinement of de Granvelle's pose and his facial expression convey his cultural sophistication and his powerful position as a high official of the Holy Roman Empire. This effect is enhanced by the clock, a symbol of prudence, which may refer to his statesmanlike qualities.