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Artist Report
Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti)
7/23/11
Out of all the names of artists on a listalthough most had interesting foreign names
Jacopo Robustis nickname seemed to stand out the most for me. I wasnt really sure why, but
since Ive never heard of the artist and didnt know anything about him, I thought it wouldnt
hurt to instigate learning about his life and history. I guess my sheer curiosity in understanding
why Jacopo would choose a nickname such as Tintoretto, was one of the factors contributing to
my decision of researching him.
Jacopo Robusti was born in Venice, Italy in the year 1512 (others argue the year of 1518 or
1519). His father was Battista Robusti, a Venetian citizen, and a cloth dyer, from which the boy
took the surname of Tintoretto [the little dyer]. As a child Tintoretto began to draw on the walls
with charcoal and the colors of his fathers dyes, tracing childish figures which had some
element of grace. His parents on seeing them believed that it would be well he cultivated his
natural inclination, and so they placed him with Titian.
While he was living with the other youngsters in Titians house he managed to copy
some of his works. Not many days later Titian, returning home, entered the room where the
students were, and on seeing some papers at the bottom of a bench with certain figures drawn on
them, asked who had done them. Jacopo timidly said they were his, for fear of having done them
incorrectly. But Titian foresaw that from these beginnings the boy might become a man of great
merit. Titian was jealous of this and ordered one of his pupils to send Jacopo from the house as
soon as possible. Without knowing why, Tintoretto was left without a master.
Jacopo, though still a child, gave thought on how to bring to conclusion the undertaking
he had begun. Nor did he allow his emotions to gain the upper hand, recognizing the merit of
Titian who was praised far and wide. In any case he thought he could become a painter by
studying the canvases of Titian and the reliefs of Michelangelo Buonarroti, who was recognized
as the father of design. Thus with the guidance of Titian and Michelangelo, he started out
toward his goal, furnished only with good counsel, to point the way on his difficult journey. So
as not to stray from his proposed aim he inscribed on the walls of one of his rooms the following
work rule:
Michelangelos design and Titians color.
Next he set out to gather plaster models of antique marbles. He had brought from
Florence the small models that Daniele da Volterra had copied from the Medici tomb figures in
San LorenzoDawn, Dusk, Day, and Night. These he studied intensively, making an infinite
number of drawings of them by the light of an oil lamp, so that he could compose in a powerful
and solidly modeled manner by means of those strong shadows cast by the lamp. Nor did he
cease his continuous study of whatever hand or torso he had collected, reproducing them on
colored paper with charcoal and water color and highlighting them with chalk and white lead.
Tintoretto observed that the best artists selected from nature, improving on her defective
parts, so as to achieve perfection. He continually copied Titians pictures, and on them based his
handling of color, with the result that in the paintings of his maturity one can see the fruits of the
careful observation of his years of study. He set himself to draw the living model in all sorts of
attitudes which he endowed with a grace of movement, drawing from them an endless variety of
foreshortenings. Sometimes he dissected corpses in order to study the arrangement of the
muscles, so as to combine his observation of sculpture with his study of nature, taking from the
first its formal beauty, and from the second, unity and delicacy. He trained himself also by
concocting in wax and clay small figures which he dressed in scraps of cloth, attentively
studying the folds of the cloth on the outlines of the limbs. He also placed some of the figures in
little houses and in perspective scenes made of wood and cardboard, and by means of little lamps
he contrived for the windows he introduced therein lights and shadows.
He also hung some models by threads to the roof beams to study the appearance they
made when seen from below, and to get the foreshortenings of figures for ceilings, creating by
such methods bizarre effects. Because of his desire to learn painting methods, he went with
some masons to Cittadella, where he painted certain fanciful effects around the face of the clock,
so as to unburden his mind which was filled to the brim with countless ideas. He also practiced
with painters of small success who decorated furniture for the painters in Piazza San Marco and
this he did in order to learn their methods. He preferred the painting of Schiavone, whom he
willingly assisted without any recompense in order to learn that masters method of handling
colors.
During that period, which could be said was the golden age of Venetian painting, many
youths of fine intellect and replete with talent made progress in their art and competitively
exhibited the fruits of their labor in the Merceria so as to find out the reaction of the viewers.
And Tintoretto with his inventions and original ideas was also on hand to show the results that
had been brought about in him by God and nature. Among the works he exhibited were two
portraits, one of himself holding a piece of lyre, both night scenes, which were depicted in so
formidable a manner that he astonished everyone. He also placed a narrative painting with many
figures in the Rialto. As soon as he got word of it, Titian hurried over to see it and was unable to
restrain his praises, though his despise toward the pupil still remained.
At that time in Venice the only works that were praised were those by Palma Vecchio,
Pordenone, Bonifacio, and Titian, who usually got the most important commissions, there was
no way for Tintoretto to make his true worth known and gain public esteem except by working
on public commissions with subject matter of greater import. Thus in order to overcome those
difficulties, he undertook all sorts of laborious tasks. He would paint religious figures on organ
shutters, the sides of altars in chapels, etc. By 1546, Tintoretto knew how to avail himself of
what he had studied and how to adapt it to his own use, thus forming a style that was skillful and
overflowing with beauty, because of which he was admired and revered by the masters of his
profession (Ridolfi, pgs 15-20).
In 1548 he was commissioned for four pictures in the Scuola di S. Marco - the Finding of
the body of St Mark in Alexandria, the Saints Body brought to Venice, a Votary of the Saint
delivered by invoking him from an Unclean Spirit, and the highly and justly celebrated Miracle
of the Slave. This last piece, represents the legend of a Christian slave or captive who was to be
tortured as a punishment for some acts of devotion to the evangelist, but was saved by the
miraculous intervention of the latter (St. Mark), who shattered the implements which were about
to be applied. These four works were greeted with signal and general applause, including that of
Titians close friend, Pietro Aretino, with whom Tintoretto was mostly in disrepute. It is said
that Tintoretto at one time painted a ceiling in Pietro's house; at another time, being invited to do
his portrait, he at once proceeded to take his sitters measure with a pistol (or a stiletto), as a
significant hint that he was not exactly the man to be trifled with.
He married Faustina de Vescovi, daughter of a Venetian nobleman. Faustina bore him
several children, probably two sons and five daughters. We here reach the crowning production
of Robusti's life, the last picture of any considerable importance which he executed, the vast
Paradise, in size 74 ft. by 30, presumed to be the largest painting ever done upon canvas. It is a
work so stupendous in scale that it has defied the connoisseurship of three centuries, and has
generally passed for an eccentric failure; while to a few eyes it seems to be so transcendent a
monument of human talent. While the commission for this huge work was yet pending and
unassigned, Robusti was wont to tell the senators that he had prayed to God that he might be
commissioned for it, so that paradise itself might perchance be his reward after death.
Upon eventually receiving the commission in 1588 he set up his canvas in the Scuola
della Misericordia and worked tirelessly at the task, making many alterations and doing various
heads and costumes direct from nature. When the picture had been brought well forward he took
it to its proper place and there finished it, assisted by his son Domenico for details of drapery,
etc. Robusti was asked to name his own price, but this he left to the authorities. After the
completion of the Paradise Robusti rested for a while, and he never undertook any other work of
importance, though there is no reason to suppose that his energies were exhausted. He was
seized with an attack in the stomach, complicated with fever, which prevented him from sleeping
and almost from eating for a fortnight, and on May 31, 1594 he died. He was buried in the
church of the Madonna dell Orto by the side of his numerously talented favorite daughter
Marietta, who had died in 1590, at the age of thirty (ArtinthePicture.com).
It is said that Jacopo Robustis artwork is a style of mannerism, since one of his paintings was
considered so rich in structural elements of post-Michelangelo Roman art that it is surprising to
learn he never visited Rome. By 1555 he was a famous painter, with a style marked by
quickness of execution, great vivacity of color, a preference for variegated perspective, and a
lively notion of space. His technique and vision were wholly personal and constantly evolving.
Historians of modern art recognize him as the supreme representative of Mannerism. Mannerism
is an artistic style that predominated in Italy from the end of the High Renaissance in the 1520s,
to the beginnings of the Baroque style around 1590. The term was first used around the end of
the 18th century by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Lanzi to define 16th-century artists who were
the followers of major Renaissance masters.
Mannerist artists evolved a style that is characterized by artificiality and artiness, by a
thoroughly self-conscious cultivation of elegance and technical facility, and by a refined lenience
in the bizarre. The figures in Mannerist works frequently have graceful but queerly lengthened
limbs, small heads, and stylized facial features, while their poses seem difficult or unnatural.
The deep, linear perspective space of High Renaissance painting is flattened and obscured so that
the figures appear as a decorative display of forms in front of a flat background of undefined
dimensions. Mannerists sought a continuous alteration of form and concept, pushing
exaggeration and contrast to great limits. The results included strange and constricting spatial
relationships, jarring juxtapositions of intense and unnatural colors, an emphasis on
abnormalities of scale, a sometimes irrational mix of classical motifs and other visual references
to the antique, and inventive and grotesque pictorial fantasies (Universalium).
Several of Tintorettos contemporaries were Titian, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Schiavone, Palma
Vecchio, II Pordenone, Bonifacio, Paolo Veronese, Correggio, and plenty of other artists living
in 16
th
century Venice, Italy (metmuseum.org).
Tintorettos artwork would usually reflect or hint a style of another artist that he admired or
influenced him. It can be seen a style of Veroneses artwork in a couple of Tintorettos biblical
paintings as well as the painting style of Schiavone. There was said to have been times when
Tintoretto would compare his paintings to Titian in order to see his stature as a painter. Most of
Tintorettos portrait artworks reflected the style of Titian, later changing and becoming his own
style which was considered more realistic and show the times of hardship in Italy. Nevertheless,
Tintoretto had been able to surpass Titians paintings with his use of colors as well as his sharp
sense of lights and shadows. Most importantly, he was able to exemplify emotions of the human
figures in his artwork that would need to be carefully studied by spectators in order to
comprehend what feelings were being conveyed by the figures (KULTURE).
Venice was an empire that controlled land in modern day Italy, a whole lot of sea coast down the
Adriatic and countless islands. It enjoyed a stable political climate and thriving trade economy,
both of which survived outbreaks of the Black Death and the fall of Constantinople. Venice was
so prosperous and healthy that it took someone named Napoleon to undo its empire status...but,
that was after the Renaissance had faded away and had nothing to do with art. The important
part is, Venice had the economy to support art and artists, and did so in a big way. As a major
port of trade, Venice was able to find ready markets for whatever decorative arts Venetian
craftsmen could produce. The whole Republic was crawling with ceramists, glassworkers,
woodworkers, lace makers and sculptors (in addition to painters), all of whom made entirely
satisfactory livings.
The state and religious communities of Venice sponsored massive amounts of building
and decorating, not to mention public statuary. Artisan guilds wood carvers, stone carvers,
painters, etc. helped ensure that artists and craftsmen were properly compensated. There were
schools that were highly selective about who could (or couldnt) belong to each. They guarded
the Venetian art market fervently, to the point that one did not purchase paintings produced
outside of the schools. Venices geographic location made it less susceptible to outside
influences - another factor which contributed to its unique artistic style. For all of these reasons,
during the Renaissance Venice gave birth to a distinct school of painting (Esaak).
What fascinated me the most about Tintoretto was how he basically self taught himself to paint
and learn about the human figure as well as the devotion and time he put to gaining that
knowledge and later becoming a master artist without the need of going to an artistic school or
being apprenticed under a famous master painter instead. I also learned that it took less time for
Tintoretto to paint his figures than to think about what he was painting (KULTUR). I was
astounded to find out that Tintoretto scarcely ever travelled out of Venice. He loved all the arts,
played the lute and various instruments when he was a child, some of them of his own invention;
he designed theatrical costumes and properties, was versed in mechanics and mechanical
devices, and was a very agreeable companion. When he was not painting, he would remain in
his working room surrounded by casts. Here he kept his modes of work secret, with the
exception of his assistants.
He abounded in pleasant, witty sayings whether to great personages or to others, but no
smile hovered on his lips. Out of doors his wife made him wear the robe of a Venetian citizen.
She would also wrap up money for him in a handkerchief, and on his return expected an account
of it; Tintorettos usual reply was that he had spent it in alms to the poor or to prisoners.
Sebastiano del Piombo remarked that Robusti could paint in two days as much as himself in two
years; Annibale Caracci that Tintoretto was in many pictures equal to Titian. This was the
general opinion of the Venetians, who said that he had three pencils - one of gold, the second of
silver and the third of iron (ArtinthePicture.com).
If given the chance to talk to Tintoretto, I would compliment him on the paintings that used an
exceptional amount of details, a variety of vibrant colors, and including how realistic the people
felt by the way their moods are emphasized with his talent for illustrating human emotion. I
would further compliment him on his talent of foreshortening, since not too many artists can
comprehend foreshortening in a short span of time. I would ask him what gave him the
inspiration to create his own personal paintings that werent commissioned. I would also ask
why he liked to use paint as his medium and, if he wanted to, could he easily use another
medium for drawing. Moreover, I would ask him to demonstrate where he would start when
creating a painting. One more question I would ask him is why he wanted the nickname
Tintoretto? What was the reason for it? Was he proud of having a father working as a tintore?
Bibliography
Tintoretto Biography - ArtinthePicture.com. Art in the Picture.com - An Introduction to Art History.
Ed. Bruno Dillen. Artinthepicture.com, 2011.
<http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Tintoretto/Biography/>.
Tintoretto. Universalium. Academic, 2010. Web. <http://universalium.academic.ru/211533/Tintoretto>.
Venice and Northern Italy, 14001600 A.D.. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/?period=08ion=eustn
(October 2002)
Esaak, Shelley. The Renaissance in Venice - Art History Basics on the Venetian School - ca 1450-
1600. Art History Resources for Students, Enthusiasts, Artists and Educators - Artist
Biographies - Art Timelines - Images and Picture Galleries. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2011.
<http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/ven_ren.htm>.
Ridolfi, Carlo. The Life of Tintoretto, and of His Children Domenico and Marietta. University Park:
Pennsylvania State UP, 1984. Print.
The Great Masters of the Italian Renaissance. Dir. Renato Mazzoli. Perf. Clive Rich. KULTUR
International Films, Ltd., 2007. DVD.