- 35
Domenico Robusti, called Domenico Tintoretto
Description
- Domenico Robusti, called Domenico Tintoretto
- The Triumph of David
- oil on canvas
Provenance
Arnold Seligman, New York;
Dr. and Mrs. Rudolphe Heinemann, Lugano, Swtizerland
Literature
Condition
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."
Catalogue Note
This strikingly vibrant canvas, published by Paola Rossi, was documented by Federico Zeri who ascribed the work as autograph in a note on the reverse of a photograph in his archive.1 In 1936 Alfred Frankfurter believed the present painting to be an early work by Jacopo Tintoretto, while Hans and Erica Tietze thought it to be the product of his school, perhaps even the work of the youngest Tintoretto son, Marco.2 Domenico's entry to the Accademia di San Luca and acceptance by the confraternity of painters in 1594 at the age of seventeen are testament to the recognition he gained independently of his father, yet it is perhaps unsurprising that his work be mistaken for that of Jacopo. The young artist trained in his father's workshop and emulated his style in his early career; indeed, the majority of works leaving Jacopo's studio in the two decades after 1580 are likely to have collaborative efforts between father and son.
The drapery here is adeptly rendered very much in the style of Jacopo, with jagged highlighted lines denoting folds of bright translucent veils. Rossi asserts that at the time of this painting's execution the artist was still very much following the methods of his father, drafting nude figures in black chalk, in order to first perfect their anatomy and pose, before replicating them in paint enrobed.3 The scholar cites, amongst others, two drawings in the Uffizi, Florence which appear to be preparatory sketches for the warrior on the far right, resting his hand on his hip and for the David himself (inventory no.12971 F and 12979 F respectively).4 Like the Venetian's painting style, the drawings are executed swiftly and deftly.
Paola Rossi associated the Triumph of David with another very early work by Domenico, Moses Saved from the Water (St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis) dated by Zeri and Frederiksen to the end of the 16th century.5 There are numerous parallels between the two works; the artist's twisting, heavy yet energetic figures; the profile faces, turned almost away from the viewer, displaying the flesh of the neck and jawline; the large eyes, shadowed above and below. The dynamism of the gestures in the present work lends immediacy and drama to the scene, the joyful dance of the musicians replicating the powerful stance of David as he bows before Saul, bent under the weight of Goliath's head. As Rossi writes, "L'atteggiamento della figura virile, inginocchiata traduce in termini enfatici lo slancio devozionale controriformistico, spesso ravvisibile, in forme simili, in personaggi dipinti da Domenico." ("The stance of the kneeling masculine figure translates in emphatic terms the devotional counter-reformist slant often apparent, in similar forms, in the individuals painted by Domenico.")6
1. P. Rossi, (see Literature) op. cit., pp.119-123, reproduced fig. 7; Fondazione Federico Zeri Archive, inv. no. 44809.
2. A.M. Frankfurter, "A century of Venetian art presented in fine display," in Art News, January 1936, p.4; H. Tietze and E. Tietze-Conrat, The Drawings of Venetian Painters in the 15th and 16th Centuries, New York 1944, p.266, n. 143.
3. P. Rossi, op. cit., p.121.
4. Ibid., reproduced fig. 9 and 8 respectively.
5. P. Rossi, op. cit., p. 121; B.B. Frederiksen and F. Zeri, Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Paintings in North American Public Collections, Cambridge (Massachusetts) 1972, p.199; for image see P.Rossi and R. Pallucchini, Tintoretto, Le opera sacre e profane, vol. I, p. 251, cat. no. A.87, reproduced vol. II, fig. 710.
6. P. Rossi, op. cit., p. 121.