Tintoretto, the stage name of Jacopo Robusti (Venice, ca. 1518 - May 31, 1594), was one of the most radical painters of Mannerism. For his phenomenal energy in painting, he was called Il Furioso, and his dramatic use of perspective and light effects made him one of the forerunners of the Baroque. His father, Battista Comin, was a tintore (silk dyer), which earned him the nickname.
Tintoretto's Learning
As a child, Jacopo, a born painter, began decorating the walls of his father's dyeing shop. Seeing his talent, his father took him to the workshop of Titian, then over fifty years old, to learn the trade. It is said that the master stayed a short time with him, because he noticed the boy's talent and independence, which would make him a painter, but not a good apprentice.
Tintoretto then studied on his own, observing the works of the great masters. But he remained an admirer, never a friend of Titian, and later adopted as a motto in his studio the phrase Michelangelo's drawing and Titian's color.
He especially studied some of Michelangelo's models, and became expert at modeling in the wax and clay method. His models were sometimes bodies used in anatomy classes.
Tintoretto's First Works
Tintoretto began by helping his friend, the painter Schiavone, to decorate walls. He then received commissions for his own work. His first two works were murals described as The Feast of Balthasar and Charge of Cavalry, without further notice. His first work to have repercussions was a portrait of him and his brother with a night effect, as the earlier ones also lost.
One of the early paintings still extant is in the church of Carmine in Venice, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. In San Benedict are The Annunciation and Christ and the Woman of Samaria.
For the Trinity School (actually a hospital and asylum in Venice) he painted four passages from Genesis, two of them, Adam and Eve and Death of Abel, now in the Venetian Academy, show noble work of high mastery, which leave no doubt that Tintoretto by this time was already a consummate painter, one of the few who achieved recognition without a formal apprenticeship.
Tintoretto in School of San Marco
During 1546, Tintoretto painted for the church of the Madonna of the Garden three of his best works, The Making of the Golden Calf, Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple and Last Judgment (shamefully repainted). This Gothic-style church in Fondamenta dei Mori, near Murano, Venice, still exists.
In 1548, he received a commission for four paintings for the School of Saint Mark, Finding the Body of Saint Mark in Alexandria (now in Murano), The Body of the Saint brought to Venice and Vows of the Saint (both in Venice, in the library of the royal palace).
Finally The Miracle of the Slave, a celebrated work that is one of the glories of the Venetian Academy, depicts the legend of a Christian slave tortured in punishment for devotion to the saint and saved by a miracle.
These four works were received with general applause. His days of obscurity were over. He was remarkable enough to marry Faustina of Vescovi, daughter of a Venetian nobleman. She was a good wife, who put up with his intractable temper and gave him two sons and five daughters.
Also from this period is the Visitation that is currently in the National Pinacoteca in Bologna.
The next commission was to paint the walls and ceilings of the School of San Marco, a work of enormous effort and self-learning for Tintoretto, which can still be seen as a brilliant tribute to his own genius.
The building was begun in 1525 and was deficient in lighting. Painting began in 1560 after several painters, including Veronese were consulted. Tintoretto secured the work by donating a painting, Saint Rocco received in Heaven.
He then completed the first room. In 1565, he resumed work on the Crucifixion, The Plague of the Serpents, Easter Festivities, and Moses Breaking the Tablets.
St. Roque
Robusti then set about decorating the school adjacent to the church of San Roque. Discounting some minor details, the buildings contain sixty-five memorable paintings, which can be described as varied and evocative scenes masterfully adapted to be viewed in half-light.
Adam and Eve, Visitation, Adoration of the Magi, Massacre of the Innocents, Agony in the Garden, Christ before Pilate, Christ carrying the Cross, and Assumption of the Virgin are the best.
At the same time Tintoretto started several frescoes in the ducal palace, Excommunication of Barbarrosa and Victory of Lepanto, which were destroyed in the great fire of 1577, and a portrait of Duke Girolamo and several smaller works.
Paradise
Among Tintoretto's works, "Paradiso" stands out because of its enormous structure and the use of several techniques that differentiate it from other artists of the time.
Paradiso highlights a great contrast of light and shadow, with the presence of great conflicts between the strong and vibrant colors present on the canvas, such as red, white, wine, and brown. One of the greatest characteristics expressed in the Baroque period is the illusionistic effect of the painting, which gives the impression of a long trip to heaven.
Violent brushstrokes are also present in the work, for as a result it becomes impossible to perceive the expression of each individual belonging to the canvas. Among the clouds highlighted by the dynamic between white and gray, there is the perception of angels, gods, men, women and children in the middle of the path that would lead to the meeting of Jesus and Mary surrounded by the twelve apostles.
Tintoretto's Death and followers
After completing Paradise, Tintoretto took a more restful life, doing no further relevant work, and spent a peaceful end to his life. He died on May 31, 1594 of an illness that began as a stomach ache, followed by a fever.
He was buried in the Church of the Madonna of the Garden, beside his daughter Marietta, herself a portraitist and musician, who worked as her father's assistant dressed as a boy. In 1866 the Vescovi and Robusti tomb was examined and the remains of nine family members were found.
Besides his sons, he had few pupils, worth mentioning Martin de Vos. There are influences of Tintoretto in the work of his contemporary Veronese and in that of the Spaniard El Greco, who got to know his work on a trip to Venice.
Lifestyle and work
Tintoretto left Venice little, he loved all the arts, played several musical instruments, some of his invention, designed clothes and props for the theater, was versed in mechanics and was pleasant company. He hardly admitted any friends to the workplace and kept his ideas and models hidden from view, even from his assistants. He wore, at his wife's insistence, the clothes of a Venetian citizen.
Tintoretto's work was uneven, sometimes painting very fast, with an impressive capacity for work. His contemporaries said that Tintoretto in some works was equal to Titian, in others he was worse than Tintoretto.
The comparison of Tintoretto's Last Supper with Leonardo's gives an instructive demonstration of how artistic style moved during the Renaissance. Leonardo is all classical response. Discipline radiates from Christ in mathematical symmetry.
In Tintoretto's hands, the same event is dramatically distorted, while human figures are elevated by the eruption of the human spirit. From the dynamism of his composition, his dramatic use of light, and his effects of perspective, he looks like a Baroque artist before his time.
Tintoretto's Museums
Places where works by the artist can be found:
- Galleria Nazionale di Parma
- Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna
- Museum of Fine Arts of Budapest
- Palazzo Pitti in Florence
- Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
- Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice
- Städelsches Kunstinstitut in Franckfurt
- Alte Pinakothek of Munich
- Pinakothek of the Old Masters, Dresden
- Art Museum of São Paulo
- Benedictine Monastery of Singeverga, Santo Tirso, Portugal
The Adoration of the Magi
The Adoration of the Magi is an oil painting on canvas, five meters long and two meters high, painted by Tintoretto, which is no longer referenced[needed clarification] from the 18th century. According to some experts and researchers, this work is found in the monastery of Singeverga in Santo Tirso. the work was donated by private individuals on January 6, 2005.