rbelling under the eaves, the borders of the circular windows, and
still more delightful borders of the long windows, and so forth; while
its campanile is magnificent. In size alone the Frari is worthy of all
respect, and its age is above five centuries. It shares with SS.
Giovanni e Paolo the duty of providing Venice with a Westminster Abbey,
for between them they preserve most of the illustrious dead.

Within, it is a gay light church with fine sombre choir stalls. Next to
S. Stefano, it is the most cheerful church in Venice, and one should
often be there. Nothing is easier than to frequent it, for it is close
to the S. Toma steamboat station, and every visit will discover a new
charm.

The most cherished possession of the Frari is, I suppose, the tomb of
Titian. It is not a very fine monument, dating from as late as 1852, but
it marks reverently the resting-place of the great man. He sits there,
the old painter, with a laurel crown. Behind him is a relief of his
"Assumption", now in the Accademia; above is the lion of Venice.
Titian's work is to be seen throughout Venice, either in fact or in
influence, and all the great cities of the world have some superb
creation from his hand, London being peculiarly fortunate in the
possession of his "Bacchus and Ariadne". Standing before the grave of
this tireless maker of beauty, let us recall the story of his life.
Titian, as we call him--Tiziano Vecellio, or Vecelli, or Tiziano da
Cadore, as he was called by his contemporaries--was born in Cadore, a
Venetian province. The year of his birth varies according to the
biographer. Some say 1477, some 1480, some 1487 or even 1489 and 1490.
Be that as it may, he was born in Cadore, the son of a soldier and
councillor, Gregorio Vecelli. As a child he was sent to Venice and
placed under art teachers, one of whom was Gentile Bellini, and one
Giovanni Bellini, in whose studio he found Giorgione. And it is here
that his age becomes important, because if he was born in 1477 he was
Giorgione's contemporary as a scholar; if ten years later he was much
his junior. In either case there is no doubt that Giorgione's influence
was very powerful. On Titian's death in 1576 he was thought to be
ninety-nine.

[Illustration: THE MADONNA OF THE PESARO FAMILY
FROM THE PAINTING BY TITIAN
_In the Church of the Frari_]

One of Titian's earliest known works is the visitation of S. Mary and S.
Elizabeth, in the Accademia. In 1507 he helped Giorgion