Eric Denker, Senior Lecturer and Manager of Gallery Talks and Lectures for Adults, National Gallery of Art

On the occasion of the exhibition of Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice, Eric Denker, senior lecturer at the National Gallery of Art presents a four-part lecture series examining Jacopo Tintoretto’s work in the context of 16th-century Venetian art, history, and culture. In this final lecture, “In Situ: Tintoretto in Venice,” held on May 14, 2019, Denker discusses the many masterpieces by the artist scattered throughout Venice. Tintoretto was both a superlative painter and an ambitious entrepreneur. As a native Venetian, he worked for the Republic of Venice, for the church, and for charitable confraternities throughout his long career, often for below-market prices. Without a carefully planned route through Venice it is difficult to understand the trajectory of Tintoretto’s career from his early experimental years to his mature work. This lecture offers a chronological itinerary that begins with the early work in the Accademia Galleries, proceeding to the church of the Madonna dell’Orto, the church of San Cassiano, the Scuola Grande di San Rocco and ends in the Ducal Palace.