Tintoretto

Click a letter for the index

Or search the encyclopaedia:

 

 

Go

 

Venetian painter who produced portraits and religious works of great intensity. Outstanding among his many works is a series of religious works in the Scuola di S Rocco in Venice (1564–88), the dramatic figures lit by a flickering, unearthly light, the space around them distorted into long perspectives. Among his best-known works is St George and the Dragon (c.1570; National Gallery, London).

He was born in Venice, the son of a dyer, hence the name Tintoretto (‘little dyer’). He studied under Titian, and was strongly influenced by Michelangelo: it is commonly claimed that his motto was ‘Michelangelo's drawing, and Titian's colour’. His works are characterized by broad and dramatic composition, fine draughtsmanship, and a superb use of colour, the scenes spectacularly lit and full of movement.

His works include the Miracle of St Mark Rescuing a Slave (1548; Accademia, Venice); his lives of Christ and the Virgin for the Scuola di S Rocco (including the vast Christ before Pilate and The Last Supper); his Paradise (1588), for the Doge's Palace; his St George and the Dragon, which demonstrates his characteristic originality in depicting figures in rushing movement; and The Origin of the Milky Way (after 1570; National Gallery, London), one of the finest of his allegories.

He also painted a large number of portraits, such as the Doge Mocenigo (Accademia, Venice), Self-Portrait (Louvre, Paris), and Vincenzo Morosini (National Gallery, London). Other works, apart from his religious works on a decorative scale, include Susanna and the Elders (Accademia, Vienna).

Red and blue were taken from the arms of Paris. White was the colour of the Bourbon dynasty. Effective date: 5 March 1848. >>