Drawing

1539

Becomes an independent master

A notarised document shows that in 1539 Tintoretto already had the status of an “independent artist” known under that name; his very first works have not survived.

c. 1560

Begins work in the Doge’s Palace

It was probably then that he began his numerous paintings for the Doge’s Palace; the first there was a portrait of the Doge Girolamo Priuli.

1564

The San Rocco competition: a finished ceiling instead of a sketch

Of the four finalists (Tintoretto, Federico Zuccaro, Giuseppe Salviati and Paolo Veronese) invited to submit models for a ceiling painting of Saint Roch in Glory for the Sala dell’Albergo, Tintoretto produced no sketch: he secretly installed a full-sized finished painting on the ceiling and on the day of the competition offered it as a gift — perhaps aware that a bylaw prohibited rejecting any gift. The ruse has been called “the most notorious incident” of his career.

November 1577

The contract: the whole Scuola for 100 ducats a year

In November 1577 he offered to execute the works for the whole scuola and the church of San Rocco at 100 ducats a year, with three pictures due each year; the proposal was accepted and punctually fulfilled, only the painter’s death preventing some ceiling subjects from being executed. The whole sum paid for the scuola was 2,447 ducats; the scuola and the church contain fifty-two memorable paintings.

1590

His favourite daughter Marietta dies

Marietta, trained by her father and a skilled portrait painter as well as a musician and singer, died in 1590; tradition says her heart-stricken father painted her last portrait. As a girl she used to accompany and assist him at work, dressed as a boy.

31 May 1594

Died