Tintoret, Birth of a Genius, Exhibition, Musée du Luxembourg, Paris: 7 March-1 July 2018

One of the last great Italian renaissance painters, Jacopo Robusti is more famously known as Tintoretto (“little dyer”) due to his father’s occupation. He has also been called Il Furioso for his highly energetic use of paint. 500 years on from his birth, this exhibition concentrates on the first 15 years of his career to help explain what shaped the artist’s life and artistic focus.

Legend has it that Tintoretto began his career under the tutelage of Titian but was thrown out after just 10 days because his teacher was so jealous of his talent. The ambitious Tintoretto nevertheless continued his training and it is these formative years that are traced by the exhibition. Always conscious of his Venetian background but open to ideas coming from the rest of Italy, the artist was unwavering in his commitment to revitalise art in cosmopolitan Venice.

The collection of Tintoretto’s art really highlights the diversity and boldness of his work, which aimed to impress people with their daring inventiveness. Deeply influenced by the colour of Titian and the drawing of Michelangelo, his art combines the two, mostly large-scale paintings on canvas of religious and historical events. These huge paintings with their narratives caused Jean-Paule Sartre to name him the “first movie director”. Not only this, but Tintoretto also depicted his Venice in his art,  with all its social and religious tensions, putting himself at genuine risk.

Musée du Luxembourg
19 rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris

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Monday – Thursday, 10.30 – 18.00
Friday – Sunday, 10.30 – 19.00