For
this I should feel the more obliged, as I should thus be consoled
in my old age, whilst praying to God to concede to your Majesty a
long and happy life with increase of his divine grace and
exaltation of your Majesty's Kingdom. In the meanwhile I expect
from the royal benevolence of your Majesty the fruits of the favour
I desire, with due reverence and humility, and kissing your sacred
hands,
"I am Your Catholic Majesty's
"most humble and devoted servant,
"TITIANO VECELLIO.
"From Venice, the 27th of February, 1576."
This is the last letter we have of Titian, who died in August of this
year, according to his own showing, in his hundredth year.
Now what reliance can be placed on this statement? On the one hand, we
have the evidence of two independent writers, Dolce and Vasari, both
personally acquainted with Titian, and both agreeing by inference that
the date of his birth was about 1489. Both had ample opportunity to get
at the truth, and Vasari is particularly explicit in recording the exact
date when he visited Titian in Venice and the age the painter had then
reached. Yet five years later Titian is found stating that he is
ninety-five, and not eighty-two as we should expect! Perhaps the best
comment is made by Crowe and Cavalcaselle, who significantly remark
immediately after the last letter: "Titian's appeal to the benevolence
of the King of Spain looks like that of a garrulous old gentleman proud
of his longevity, but hoping still to live for many years.
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