vited thither, and painted the portrait of that monarch, and his
principal attendants, for which he was liberally rewarded.--About this
time, he was invited to the court of the Duke of Mantua, whose portrait
he painted, and decorated a saloon in the palace with a series of the
Twelve Caesars, beneath which Giulio Romano afterwards painted a subject
from the history of each. In 1543, Paul III. visited Ferrara, where
Titian was then engaged, sat for his portrait and invited him to Rome,
but previous engagements with the Duke of Urbino, obliged him to decline
or defer the invitation. Having completed his undertakings for that
prince, he went to Rome at the invitation of the Cardinal Farnese in
1548, where he was received with marks of great distinction. He was
accommodated with apartments in the palace of the Belvidere, and painted
the Pope, Paul III., a second time, whom he represented seated between
the Cardinal Farnese and Prince Ottavio. He also painted his famous
picture of Danae, which caused Michael Angelo to lament that Titian had
not studied the antique as accurately as he had nature, in which case
his works would have been inimitable, by uniting the perfection of
coloring with correctness of design. It is said that the Pope was so
captivated with his works that he endeavored to retain him at Rome, and
offered him as an inducement the lucrative office of the Leaden Seal,
then vacant by the death of Fra Sebastiano del Piombo, but he declined
on account of conscientious scruples. Titian had no sooner returned from
Rome to Venice, than he received so pressing an invitation from his
first protector, Charles V., to visit the court of Spain, that he could
no longer refuse; and he accordingly set out for Madrid, where he
arrived at the beginning of 1550, and was received with extraordinary
honors. After a residence of three years at Madrid, he returned to
Venice, whence he was shortly afterwards invited to Inspruck, where he
painted the portrait of Ferdinand, king of the Romans, his queen and
children, in one picture.--Though now advanced in years, his powers
continued unabated, and this group was accounted one of his best
productions. He afterwards returned to Venice, where he continued to
exercise his pencil to the last year of his long life.

TITIAN'S MANNERS.

Most writers observe that Titian had four different manners, at as many
different periods of his life: first that of Bellini, somewhat stiff and
hard, in wh