Artist Report

Personal life


Name of Artist: Jacopo Robusti a.k.a. Tintoretto

Birth Date: Born in 1518 or 1519

Birth Place: Venice, Italy

What later life events (marriage, children, deaths, etc.) had a major influence on the
artist? (Your response should be a minimum of 100 words and complete sentences.)

There is very little known about Tintoretto’s early childhood, his birth year is still not
known for sure, but his father was a cloth dryer which is where he got his artist’s name
Tintoretto which means “ the little dyer”. It is believed that the time he spent at his
father’s dryer is where he found inspiration for his choices in colors he later put into his
art. There is nothing that point to his mother playing as much of role in his earlier years,
his time spent with his father at work is the main record inspirations he got from his
family.

Time Period

Describe what prevailing style of art was popular when the artist first started? (Your
description should be at least three complete sentences in length.)

When Tintoretto started out in his career it was believed that he was self taught because
there was no record of him entering any school or trainings. Tintoretto started with what
was popular at the time, gestural art or action paintings, but as he continued through his
education this style of art became seen as the form of art for those with less skills. This
left Tintoretto’s work up to criticism, until he started to adapt. Some thought that is
showed he lacked the skills and other saw it as bold.

What ‘new’ style did the artist start, or get involved in?

Tintoretto moved to Venetian painting when he had a falling out with a mentor, this
change caused even more friction with the two. Tintoretto did not let the friction stop him
from being on the cutting edge side of Venetian painting. He started to get a name for him
self and his work with a mural fresco paintings.

What important historical events happened during the artist’s lifetime that influenced one
or more pieces? (Your response should be a minimum of 100 words and complete
sentences.)
The biggest influential aspect of Tintoretto’s life what religion, he grew up catholic and
did many church paintings throughout his life. The struggles that catholics have in their
religion is where Tintoretto found the most inspiration. There was many things happening
around Tintoretto but the events that pushed his career where always his relationships
with other artist and religion. He found that trying to get his paintings in somewhere that
another artist was tying to get into was where he pushed his skills the most. Since most of
his depictions were religious paintings he spent most of his time in churches or with
others who were struggling with religious beliefs or were just struggling to get along.

Select one piece that your artist did

Name of the piece: Last Supper

Copy and paste your artist’s painting here:

What is it about?
This painting is a depiction of the last supper with Tintoretto’s take on it. Instead of a the
apostles sitting at the table there is secondary people to the appestats, like the man eating
out of another hands.
Why did you choose this piece? (Two or more complete sentences, minimum)
I choose this piece because of the depth that it bring to the original painting. It shows that
though the painting shows the men who help christ and share his story there are also
those that are helped by the same man which are the people I imagine in Tintoretto’s
painting. It also has a unique choice of color, leather than a bright painting it is dark
which I feel bring out the story you feel behind the painting.

Name two elements of design that the artist used in this piece:
One of the reasons I choose this painting was because of the color choice that was made,
the darker colors help empathize that these are not people in a good situation or may be
struggling which adds another layer of depth to his meaning. The texture that is in the
painting stand out to me in the people’s faces, you can see the dirt that would be on their
faces and can almost feel it on your own face when you look at them.

Name one principle of design that the artist used in this piece:
Tintoretto’s unity in this painting is the first thing that I noticed. Even though each person
is doing something different and each person is in the painting is telling a different story
they all seamlessly fit together to make it a complete story.

When you first looked at this piece what was your reaction to it? (Two or more complete
sentences, minimum)
When I first looked at this painting it took me a minute to process that the people in this
painting where not the same as the original and that is when I was then drawn to the man
who is feeding another man with his hands and started to understand that story that was
trying to be told in the painting.

Did your reaction change as you studied this piece? Explain.

Once I started to understand what Tintoretto was trying to say with the painting is when I
started to appreciate the smaller aspects of the painting like the color and the textures and
what they brought to he story.

Sources

List two sources you used to gather your information

1. Jacopo Tintoretto Biography, Life & Quotes. The Art Story. (2018). https://
www.theartstory.org/artist/tintoretto/life-and-legacy/.
 1. https://www.theartstory.org/artist/tintoretto/life-and-legacy/

2. Marx, D., & Krén, E. (2018). The Last Supper. The Last Supper by TINTORETTO.
https://www.wga.hu/html_m/t/tintoret/5_1580s/3lastsup.html.
1.https://www.wga.hu/html_m/t/tintoret/5_1580s/3lastsup.html