s easy remedy was, however, in his own hands; he
set to work and soon completed a great canvas of the "Battle of Cadore,"
which, though it is only known to us from a contemporary print and a
drawing by Rubens, evidently deserved Vasari's verdict of being the
finest battlepiece ever placed in the hall. The movement and stir he
contrives to give with a small number of figures is astonishing. The
fortress burns upon the hill-side, a regiment advancing with lances and
pennons produces the illusion that it is the vanguard of a great army,
the desperate conflict by the narrow bridge realises all the terrors of
war. It was an atonement for his long period of neglect, but it was not
till 1439 [TN: Pordenone died in 1539] that, Pordenone having suddenly
died, the Signoria relented and reinstated Titian in his Broker's
patent. One of his later paintings for the State still keeps its place,
"The Triumph of Faith," in which Doge Grimani, a splendid, steel-clad
form with flowing mantle, kneels before the angelic apparition of Faith,
who holds a cross, which angels and cherubs help her to support. Beneath
the clouds are seen the Venetian fleet, the Ducal Palace, and the
Campanile. It is an allegory of Grimani's life; his defeat and captivity
are symbolised by the cross and chalice, and the magnificent figure of
St. Mark with the lion is introduced to show that the Doge believes
himself to owe his freedom to the saint's intercession. The prophet and
standard-bearer at the sides were added by Marco Vecellio.

Though the battlepiece perished in the fire of 1577, another masterpiece
of this time marks a climax in Titian's brilliantly coloured and highly
finished style. The "Presentation of the Virgin" was painted for the
refectory of the Confraternity of the Carita, which was housed in the
building now used as the Academy, so that the picture remains in the
place for which it was executed. It is one of the most vivid and
life-like of all his works. The composition is the traditional one;
the fifteen steps of the "Gospel of Mary," the High Priest of the old
dispensation welcoming the childish representative of the new. Below is
a great crowd, but it is this little figure which first attracts the
eye. The contrast between the mass of architecture and the free and
glowing country beyond is not without meaning, and a broken Roman torso,
lying neglected on the ground, symbolises the downfall of the Pagan
Empire. The flight of steps, with the f