Dolce's Aretin Visual Analysis

In Dolce's Aretino, it seems as if design could be defined as the artist outlining and transcribing their original idea to the final product. This planning process includes improving or perfecting the natural. Aretino describes the importance of accuracy and precision when dealing with proportions, variety, and motion; but also states that an artist must not just imitate nature, but correct it through their design. On the other hand, color was meant to "imitate nature justly" and make "paintings feel alive" (Dolce 138). If I am interpreting the readings correctly, it seems as if the "debate" between Venetian color and Florentine design was whether to imitate or correct the natural in painting. This regional difference has been mentioned in prior readings, where we have learned that very realistic paintings were highly valued within Venetian society, such as Titian's lifelike portraits.
In Vasari's reflection on the life and art of Titian, he comments several times on Titian's lack of training that could be received in areas outside of Venice.
At one point, Titian studied under Giorgione, who was known for not using sketches to perfect his composition before he started on the final painting. Vasari and other non-Venetian painters looked down on this lack of artistic study as Vasari expresses in my favorite (and the most savage) quote of the reading that painters such as Giorgione "conceal under the charm of colours his poor knowledge of how to draw" (Vasari 490). Vasari also recalls a quote from Fra Sebastiano del Piombo in which he states "Titian deserved the reputation of being the finest and most able imitator of Nature in his use of colour in our time, and that with a foundation in the grand art of design, he would have reached the level of Raphael and Buonarroti (Vasari 492). Vasari, a Florentine, believes that the best artwork incorporates design and not solely color and without the skills of design, a painter can only
imitate.
The reputation and foreign renown of Venetian artists could potentially be at stake here. If artists in Rome or Florence believe that art will never reach a certain level of greatness due to a lack of training in design, then Venetian art would never be taken completely seriously or fully recognized outside of Venice. Even when commenting on the beauty of Titian's artwork, Vasari and others still add that it could be so much better if he did not grow up around Venice and received training in Rome or Florence. In this situation, regional competition does play a role in that natives of Rome, Florence, or Venice are going to believe that their way is the best way.