Here is a wonderful article by Ruth Yeazell, a professor at Yale University, that appeared in the Epoch Times last month. Professor Yeazell gives a quick overview of her recent book: Picture Titles: How and Why Western Paintings Acquired Their Names. I found this part very amusing:
Even modern pictures often derive their titles from middlemen. Jackson Pollock’s Pasiphaë (1943) appears to have been named after the mythical queen who cuckolded King Minos and gave birth to the Minotaur, and some distinguished commentators interpreted it accordingly. But Pollock had actually intended to title his picture Moby Dick: it was a museum curator who came up with Pasiphaë.
“Who the hell is Pasiphaë?” the artist is reported to have inquired.
I think you will all enjoy reading the article (click HERE) and some may even be interested in obtaining a copy of her book.
John Constable “The Hay Wain”