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News Article
After 70 years of obscurity, Titian makes its mark
After more than 30 years of research, Tennessee lawyer and art collector Thomas Dossett feels as if he’s been vindicated. Not only that, but history itself is finally being corrected.

The story of Dossett’s vindication revolves around a somber, unsigned oil portrait of Federico II Gonzaga, the first Duke of Mantua. At issue was who painted the portrait. Was it Titian, one of the most famous painters of the 16th century?

The portrait of the duke, who was to become the first great patron of Titian (Venitian, 1490-1576), was consigned to obscurity nearly 70 years ago after an art critic questioned the authenticity of the painting.

The art critic acted on information from an earlier archivist who misread Roman numerals in the date of a handwritten letter concerning the portrait. Now, after 30 years of research, it appears that what was once considered a questionable piece of art – and that had sold for as little as $2,500 – may be elevated to its real station in the art world, with a value that could be in the tens of millions of dollars.

Last week, the portrait was accepted for inclusion within the prestigious Titian exhibition at the Musee du Luxembourg in Paris. Its inclusion in this exhibition should confirm its acceptance as a genuine Titian.

But, that’s something Dossett knew from the beginning. He knew there was something special about the painting when he first saw it in 1970.

“I knew it was the work of a master,” he recalled. “It just speaks to you. It has a presence.”

But the portrait still had a “tainted heritage,” which Dossett believed was a mistake. And as a longtime lawyer in product liability cases, Dossett knows how profitable some mistakes can become.

“It was a monstrous mistake,” he now says. “The further we looked, the further we dug into this, we realized someone had made a mistake. And I’m glad they did. The only thing I knew was that up until 70 years ago, every great expert on Titian claimed it was a Titian. It was authenticated by all the great Titian experts up until this mistake was made.”

The portrait is now on loan to the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

“There are only four such ducal paintings done by Titian,” Dossett said. “The last one sold to the Getty museum for $70 million.”

Dossett is not interested in selling the painting. He believes certain treasures, like the Titian portrait, should remain in the public domain.

“If I sold it, what would I do with a fourth of a small fortune? I’m 73, my children’s education is paid for. I have a comfortable life,” he said. “There are certain things that belong to the world.

“I think it should go into a great museum. I’m proud to be vindicated, and I’m glad to see history corrected,” Dossett said.

Although Dossett had remained adamant he owned an original Titian painting for 30 years, it wasn’t until he enlisted the help of Aaron DeGroft that the painting began its journey outside the shroud of mystery. De Groft, who has a doctorate in art history, researched the painting for eight years. He bases his findings on scientific analysis, examination of archival documents, and stylistic comparisons with other Titian works.

“Given all our research, I believe the painting is by Titian,” he said. “I believe the head and hands were definitely painted by Titian, and his workshop did the background, which was common.”

De Groft, who is also director of the Muscarelle Museum, is working on details of the loan agreement with the Luxembourg Museum.

“What’s exciting to us, is that this is the first time in almost 100 years that the painting will be exhibited,” De Groft said. “It’s a great opportunity to see the painting up against other Titians.”

The portrait is expected to be among 30 some Titians at the Paris museum this fall, where the show is considered to be one of the most important exhibitions of 2006.

Eric C. Rodenberg

6/9/2006
Comments For This Post
Posted by  Bill  on Jan 25 2007 10:33AM
Email: docpainless2000@yahoo.com
Comment: What a truly beautiful work of art. Very Exciting!
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