This month the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, DC, presents a comprehensive study of one of the greatest painters of the 16th century. Jacopo Tintoretto (c. 1519–1594) was one of the most prominent painters of Venice during his lifetime. Known as a fast and prolific painter who used bold, expressive brushstrokes, he painted massive biblical scenes and intimate portraits with equal skill and attention.
For the first full-scale retrospective of the artist in America, the NGA has brought together 46 significant paintings and 10 drawings, many of which are traveling to America for the first time. A majority of the works in Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice are massive, including Paradiso (modello), which stretches over 16 feet long. Paradiso (modello) is a sketch for the work which many consider to be his masterpiece, Il Paradiso, which hangs at the Louvre, and at over 72 feet long is one of the largest paintings in the world.