Boy with Dogs in a Landscape

The meaning of this painting is unclear. A young boy lifts the hem of his tunic with his right hand and supports himself by resting his left arm on the back of a large, white dog. The animal looks at a second dog suckling two puppies on the left. In the background is a landscape rendered in wide brushstrokes and forceful colours. The bright light seems to emanate from burning buildings or the setting sun. Whom does the boy represent? The bunch of grapes in the foliage on the right might be intended to identify him as the young Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. Nevertheless, this remains uncertain.

Titian was one of the leading painters of his time. Like his contemporaries in Venice, he used vigorous colours and applied them with broad strokes. From 1570 until his death in 1576, he employed a sketchy manner of painting, which makes certain passages difficult to distinguish. This style produced lyrical images, which in Titian’s day were described as poesie. Though undated, the painting is considered a late work on the grounds of its style.