Tintoretto

While Veronese was promoted by Titian as his artistic heir, Tintoretto was seen as a potential rival. While Titian developed an international clientele, Tintoretto executed most of his greatest works in Venice. He liked to work on a large scale and kept his prices down, sometimes painting ‘loss leaders’ to secure business. His best clients were charitable institutions called Scuole, some of which had limited resources.

Tintoretto’s first masterpiece was the Miracle of the Slave, today in the Accademia, Venice. Here, the example of Michelangelo is apparent in the vigorous poses, which Tintoretto articulated and energized with deep shadows, and many faces wholly or partly concealed, emphasizing movement at the expense of individual characterization. The surging mass in the foreground is thrown into relief by a brightly lit architectural backdrop. In two other contemporary paintings, of The Finding and Restitution of the Body of St. Mark, he further dramatizes the story with steep perspective. All these devices were to form the backbone of his subsequent work.