Millennial perspective in “Venetian Prints in the Time of Tintoretto”
The National Gallery of Art, currently, is hosting a Renaissance exhibit featuring the sketches, paintings and inspirations of Italian artist Jacobo Tintoretto, believed to have born in either 1518 or 1519. The Gallery describes his work as “muscular, expressive bodies,” and the exhibit guides viewers through a path that demonstrates the evolution of Tintoretto’s work across the breadth of his career. One room, for example, is largely filled with his sketches, while others show finished works and another features a collection of Venetian Prints believed to have inspired his stylistic choices.
Like much art of the Renaissance, a great deal of the subject matter is inspired by religion and mythology, depicting scenes such as “Samson and Delilah” by Nicolò Boldrini, a woodcut portraying a victorious Delilah cutting the hair of a defeated Samson, laid asunder at the mercy of the Philistines. Guilio Sanuto’s “Bacchanale” engraving depicts the likes of drunken celebration and fantastical creatures, all in praise of the god of wine, Bacchus himself. Many drawings of a youthful El Greco are also interspersed in the exhibit, who lived from 1541-1614 and was deeply inspired by the colors and technical elements of Tintoretto’s work.
All aside one another, in my own experience, I found the sketches and prints amongst the collection to be the most fascinating. Tintoretto’s “Male Nude with a Musical Instrument” chalk on blue paper with traces of oil paint is striking and surprising, with sharply defined musculature in the “walnut”-esque style he’s known for. While it’s a preliminary sketch and lacks shadow and gradient, it’s beautiful and impactful.
Palma Giovane’s “Study for a Bound Prisoner,” too, is a crude sketch of sorts, and mere outline of the work to come. Giuseppe Scolari’s woodcut of “The Entombment” is sharp and shaded, dark greys and linework embodying the serious, grim tone of Christ’s burial. It’s profound and poignant, particularly in its black and white, the absence of color and life.
It was these, specifically, that seemed so very 21st century to me. Immediately, the styling of the works reminded me of comics, current graphic art, pop art, even. For me, the most interesting and strong element of this exhibition wasn’t the overwhelming quality of the lavishness of the art, but rather the minimalist style of the pieces, particularly juxtaposed alongside such classical subject matter. It was a reminder of how, like the crisp prints of Bible stories, nothing new is new, but rather inspired by the stories, the art, of old.
I believe that the Tintoretto exhibition is surely a worthwhile one. It’s a nice reflection on his trajectory as an artist, alongside a celebration of the joy and beauty to be found in the simplicity of his sketchbook, much like our current generation’s obsession with the clarity of the Marie Kondo method. The color palette, naturally, is mainly a collection of neutrals-- the swatches of a 2019 “home” Pinterest board. It seems that, perhaps, minimalism may not just be a moody millennial idea after all.
“Samson and Delilah” by Nicolò Boldrini (from here).
Like much art of the Renaissance, a great deal of the subject matter is inspired by religion and mythology, depicting scenes such as “Samson and Delilah” by Nicolò Boldrini, a woodcut portraying a victorious Delilah cutting the hair of a defeated Samson, laid asunder at the mercy of the Philistines. Guilio Sanuto’s “Bacchanale” engraving depicts the likes of drunken celebration and fantastical creatures, all in praise of the god of wine, Bacchus himself. Many drawings of a youthful El Greco are also interspersed in the exhibit, who lived from 1541-1614 and was deeply inspired by the colors and technical elements of Tintoretto’s work.
Guilio Sanuto's "Bacchanale" (from here).
Tintoretto's "Male Nude with a Musical Instrument"
Palma Giovane’s “Study for a Bound Prisoner,” too, is a crude sketch of sorts, and mere outline of the work to come. Giuseppe Scolari’s woodcut of “The Entombment” is sharp and shaded, dark greys and linework embodying the serious, grim tone of Christ’s burial. It’s profound and poignant, particularly in its black and white, the absence of color and life.
It was these, specifically, that seemed so very 21st century to me. Immediately, the styling of the works reminded me of comics, current graphic art, pop art, even. For me, the most interesting and strong element of this exhibition wasn’t the overwhelming quality of the lavishness of the art, but rather the minimalist style of the pieces, particularly juxtaposed alongside such classical subject matter. It was a reminder of how, like the crisp prints of Bible stories, nothing new is new, but rather inspired by the stories, the art, of old.
I believe that the Tintoretto exhibition is surely a worthwhile one. It’s a nice reflection on his trajectory as an artist, alongside a celebration of the joy and beauty to be found in the simplicity of his sketchbook, much like our current generation’s obsession with the clarity of the Marie Kondo method. The color palette, naturally, is mainly a collection of neutrals-- the swatches of a 2019 “home” Pinterest board. It seems that, perhaps, minimalism may not just be a moody millennial idea after all.
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