The Frick Collection announced the sixth title in its popular Diptych series. The new volume, available at Frick Madison and through the museums website, focuses on Titians extraordinary portrait of the famed Italian writer, poet, playwright, and satirist Pietro Aretino. Each book in this series focuses on a single work in the Fricks collection and includes an essay by a curator complemented by a contribution from a contemporary cultural figure. Written by Xavier F. Salomon, deputy director and Peter Jay Sharp chief curator, and acclaimed author Francine Prose, this new book takes as its subject the celebrated and notorious figure who earned the nickname the scourge of princes for his satirical writings on the rich and powerful. After moving to Venice in 1527, Aretino befriended Titian, who went on to paint three portraits of the writer and included his likeness in two other larger works. The portrait in the Fricks collection, apparently painted in just three days, conveys Aretinos intellectual power and presents him as a richly robed figure wearing a gold chain given to him as a gift from a patron. Salomons essay delves into the complex relationship between the artist and the sitter as well as publisher Francesco Marcolini, who commissioned the portrait as a testament to his friendship with Aretino. A lyrical text by Prose addresses the virtues and vices of Aretino as a sharp-tongued Venetian, known to be a blackmailer. The Diptych series is published by The Frick Collection in association with D Giles Ltd., London. It is sold online through the museum shop at www.frick.org/shop or by emailing sales@frick.org. The series is also available at Frick Madison, the institutions temporary new location during the renovation of its home on 70th Street in Manhattan, N.Y.