Jacopo Tintoretto: 60 Drawings

Book excerpt: Tintoretto (real name Jacopo Comin) was an Italian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso. His work is characterized by its muscular figures, dramatic gestures, and bold use of perspective in the Mannerist style, while maintaining color and light typical of the Venetian School. He is said to have trained very briefly with Titian, but the style of his immature works suggests that he may also have studied with Bonifacio Veronese, Paris Bordone, or Schiavone. Almost all of his life was spent in Venice and most of his work is still in the churches or other buildings for which it was painted. He appears to have been unpopular because he was unscrupulous in procuring commissions and ready to undercut his competitors. Tintoretto used to make small wax models which he arranged on a stage and experimented on with spotlights for effects of light and shade and composition. He was a formidable draughtsman and, according to Ridolfi, he had inscribed on his studio wall the motto 'The drawing of Michelangelo and the color of Titian'. However, he was very different in spirit from either of his avowed models, more emotive, using vivid exaggerations of light and movement. His drawings are brilliant, rapid notations, bristling with energy, and his color is more somber and mystical than Titian's.