Was Jacopo Tintoretto a Mannerist painter or the last great artist of the Italian Renaissance? Born on September 29th 1518 Jacopo was one of twenty one children. His father was a silk dyer by trade and the family was based in Venice. The young Jacopo was trained for a short period by Titian and was a great admirer of Michelangelo, copying his drawings. It is even possible that he met Michelangelo on a visit to Rome in 1545.
He tried to synthesise the drawings of Michelangelo and the colouring of his old master Titian. Tintoretto had a style that was all his own and did not seek to paint simply in the 'manner' of the previous generation of artists, so yes, he was the last of the great painters of the Italian Renaissance.
In 1564 the artist began his association with the Scuola di San Rocco, where he worked for over twenty years and decorated the building with vast canvases. His theme was the life of the Virgin and the life of Christ. These pictures are executed with tremendous freedom and include an enormous Crucifixion scene. The last major work of the artist's life is the huge "Paradise". This painting is a colossal 74 ft by 30 ft, and the artist was assisted by his son Domenico, and painted many of the heads and drapery from nature.
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