About the Artist

Tintoretto (1518 Venice-1594 Venice), who was born Jacopo Robusti, was officially listed as an indpendent painter in Venice from 1539. We do not know with whom he studied. Titian, Andrea Schiavone and Paris Bordone are often mentined in this context. His style would indicate that he had been in Rome during the 1540s. Around 1547, the Last Supper in the church of S. Marcuola and the Miracle of St. Mark in the Galleria dell' Accademia ushered in a period (1574-1588) of secure commissions resulting in a number of works done mainly in Venice. Some of these are especially noteworthy, including the interior of the Scuola di S.Rocco, the works commissioned by the state for the Doge's Palace in Venice, as well as the Gonzaga cycle for the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua. Tintoretto also numbered among the best portraitists of his time, and is considered the most important representative of Venetian Mannerism. Other works by the artist include three Camerlenghi before the Virgin and Saints Sebastian, George and Theodore, 1566, Galleria dell'Accademia, Venice; Rise of the Iron Snake, 1576, Scuola di S. Rocco, Venice; and Self-Portrait, c. 1588, Musee du Louvre, Paris.