How did titian get his start as a major artist of the venetian school?

Titian was an Italian Renaissance painter, one of the greatest exponents of the Venetian School.

Titian was an Italian Renaissance painter, one of the greatest exponents of the Venetian School.

He came from a family with high status: he was the fourth son of Gregorio Vecelli, a distinguished councilor and military, and his wife Lucia. There was no family history in the field of art. However, at the age of 10, Titian and his older brother, Francesco, went to Venice to enter as apprentices in the workshop of Sebastiano Zuccato, a famous mosaicist. Due to his incipient talent, in the course of three or four years, he entered the studio of the venerable painter Giovanni Bellini, who at that time was the most recognized artist in the city. There he met a group of young people who would make up the first generation of painters of the Venetian School: Giovanni Palma da Serinalta, Lorenzo Lotto, Sebastiano Luciani, and Giorgio da Castelfranco, known as Giorgione. His brother Francesco also enjoyed some relevance in Venice as a painter.

The fresco on Hercules in the Morosini palace is considered one of his first creations. Other early works are the Virgin and Child of Belvedere Palace in Vienna and the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth (of the convent of St. Andrew), exhibited today in the Gallery of the Academy of Venice.