Tintoretto. Portraits

Annotation to the book "Tintoretto. Portraits"
The album presents 22 portraits of the famous Venetian artist of the 16th century Tintoretto.
The great Italian painter Jacopo timid was nicknamed - and became famous! - Under the name of Tintoretto, which is translated from Italian means "little dyer". The artist was quite satisfied with his nickname: he was proud of his father - a dye of silk.
Tintoretto"s creative biography began almost with a curiosity. He became a student of Veliky Titian, but he was only ten days! In history there is no explanation for this strange circumstance, but, according to some testimonies, the master and his student did not agree on the characters. According to other sources, the great master seemed to be very happy, discovering in it the talent is greater than his own ... We will not know if everything was so, but Titian had his influence on the young artist: Tintoretto became a lively embodiment of the Golden Age of Venetian painting ". Tintoretto himself considered historical and religious painting his main occupation. However, art historians consider portraits written by the master, the best part of his artistic heritage. The words of the master himself are known, telling how he worked: "Paints can be bought at Rialto, while the art of drawing is achieved only by stubborn work. The artist worked a lot on the study of anatomy, the collection of casts in the workshop - this is evidence. He studied the angles, looking at the prepared casts from all sides, more than once changed the composition to achieve the desired effect, interfered with paint, achieving the necessary color. He worked carefully - but quickly!
characterizing the style of portraits of the master, you can see that the main component was the inner world of the heroes. All of them look at the viewer directly in the eyes, however - and this is a certain secret! - They seem to be removed from us, offering to guess their mood themselves. The restraint of colors, the simplicity of expressive means, the laconicism of the general decision did not deprive the heroes of the Tintoretto of spiritual beauty and significance. The nobility and even the majesty of the portrait was especially manifested when writing older people. Their faces are expressive, in their eyes - wisdom and spiritual strength. Neither the difficulties of life or disappointment took away the energy, they allowed them - and the artist showed this in portraits! - To lose the strength of the spirit