Of the famous trio of painters active in Venice in the 16th century—Tintoretto, Titian, and Paolo Veronese—Tintoretto was the only one born in the city of lagoons, and he scarcely left. According to Carlo Ridolfi, his first biographer, Tintoretto was such a gifted pupil that Titian drove him from his home out of envy. By the age of 21, Tintoretto was working independently in Venice as a painter.

Tintoretto’s goal was to combine Titian’s palette with Michelangelo’s disegno, then considered the two most important components of painting. Moreover, he aimed to make a name for himself by creating works too large ever to be carried away. He succeeded in monumental works in the Palazzo Ducale in Venice, in the Scuola Grande in San Rocco, of which he was a member, and in numerous other churches. These monumental works contain extreme foreshortening, writhing figures, and visionary settings—the hallmarks of Tintoretto’s work. Tintoretto was equally skilled in smaller-format works such as portraits, cassoni (chests), and istorie (independent, self-sufficient narrative paintings suited for collectors and connoisseurs).