Sacred and Profane Love
2023 © Maxim Tabachnik
Pauline Bonaparte as Venus VictrixThe Rape of ProserpinaAdoration of the ChildDavidApollo and DaphneThe Council of the GodsSaint Jerome WritingAeneas, Anchises, and AscaniusThe EntombmentYoung Sick BacchusDavid with the Head of GoliathApollo and Daphne with The Apotheosis of RomulusMadonna and Child with St AnneRoman Civilization and the Heroic Virtue of HonorBoy with a Basket of Fruit
Sacred and Profane LoveSacred and Profane LoveSacred and Profane Love
Max Amid Roman EchoesThe Apotheosis of RomulusTruth Unveiled by TimeBust of Cardinal Scipione BorgheseYoung Woman with a UnicornHistoric Gardens of Villa BorgheseAtlantes and DeitiesMax aming Berninis and CaravaggiosPope Paul V BorghesePope Paul VMax Contemplates Bernini’s Pluto and ProserpinaVenus Blindfolding CupidFireplace

Sacred and Profane LoveTitian

1162
This oil painting (1514–15) juxtaposes a Venetian bride with a nude Venus beside a carved fountain, where Cupid mixes the water. The two figures articulate the painting’s core theme—the harmony between earthly commitments and divine inspiration—showing how Renaissance humanism reconciled sensual beauty, marital virtue, and the elevating power of love.