The title of this little book is inspired by Erwin Panofsky’s remarks on the “inner affinity” between Ovid and Titian. But this inner affinity between the Latin poet and the Venetian painter also extends to Philip of Spain, for whom Titian painted the famous cycle of canvases that he referred to in his letters as the “Poesie”. To explore this kinship of spirit among the poet, the painter, and the king, this study examines the dynastic fecundity that results from the effects of works of art on the imagination, the soul and the body.

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