The Titian painting of a man in a quilted sleeve (Titian 'Portrait of Gerolamo Barbarigo', c. 1510) in the National Gallery, London has always been a favourite of mine. It shows a well-groomed nobleman confidently eyeballing the viewer, and it is a technically wonderful bit of painting. I wanted to paint a version of myself, not as accomplished as a painter as Titian, nor as confident as the original sitter, taking my place in the art historical tradition, to see how I fit in. -Tai Shan Schierenberg, 2026