National Gallery, London
SAINT GEORGE AND THE DRAGON. By Tintoretto
THE NATIONAL GALLERY
TINTORETTO
Monograph Number Four in The Mentor Reading Course
Tintoretto was called by his contemporaries “Il Furioso,” or “the furious.” This was because of the passionate, fiery style which marked his work.
His real name was Jacopo Robusti. He received his nickname from the fact that his father was a dyer, or Tintore. Jacopo used to help him, and so they called him Tintoretto, or “little dyer.”
He was born in Venice in 1518. Even as a child he daubed pictures on the walls of his father’s dye house. His father soon noticed this, and took him around to the studio of Titian, to see if he could be trained as an artist. The famous old painter agreed to attempt it, but Jacopo had only been ten days in the studio when Titian sent him home for good. It is said that the great master did this out of jealousy, believing that the boy might become his rival. However, it may be fairer to presume that Titian really did not think that the young dyer would ever become an artist. It is a well-known fact, however, that Titian was a bad teacher.
Then Tintoretto began studying for himself. He obtained small copies of Michelangelo’s sculptures and drew from them as models. He worked night and day at this.