Bhutan: Titian Painting

Bhutan issued this stamp which features detail from a painting by Titian. Venus and the Organ player is one of an apparent series of paintings done for various patrons. The patron got the privilege of being the model for the instrumentalist. There is at least one painting that uses a lutenist and two the feature an organist seated before a positiv. In all, the musician gazes adoringly at Cupid, reclined to the right, and apparently sometimes accompanied by a cherub (Cupid). Since this is a freely composed painting, one cannot expect that the organ pictured is a copy of a specific instrument, but merely a representation of the general nature of table-top instruments. The stamp above demonstrates that there were at least two paintings in similar vein. The organist in the stamp is not the same as the one shown in the painting below. Also the title of the painting used for the stamp above is "Venus and the Organ Player;" that of the painting below is "Venus and Cupid with an Organ Player."