Workshop of Jacopo Robusti, called Jacopo Tintoretto, 1592, possibly Domenico Robusti, called Domenico Tintoretto

Domenego Duodo came from an illustrious Venetian patrician family, which produced a number of commanders and procurators, from the 11th to the 17th century. Domenego succeeded to the post of Procurator de Ultra on 17 November 1592 (the year of this portrait), following the death of his brother, Francesco, who had been appointed Procurator in 1587.¹ A bust that adorned the Duodo tomb by Alessandro Vittoria (now in the Galleria Franchetti, Ca' d'Oro, Venice), portrays Domenego Duodo in 1596, with the same distinctive moustache and naturally raised eyebrows.²

^The Procurators of Saint Mark were among the most prestigious officeholders in the Venetian government. These lifetime appointments were considered second only to that of the Doge. Procurators, appointed following a distinguished career in politics, led an active role in the management and oversight of the city, responsible for much of the financial capabilities of the Republic and its many endowments, as well as the construction, maintenance and management of public buildings. Some of the Procurators (‘de Supra’ and ‘de Citra’) took care of the administration of Saint Mark's Basilica and the surrounding sestieri, while the ‘Procuratori de Ultra’ did the same for the districts of Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, and San Polo, on the other side of the Grand Canal. The official dress consisted of the rich red, ermine-lined robe with voluminous manege dogali (ducal sleeves) and becho (the embroidered stole) worn here by Duodo (though this dress was not specifically limited to Procurators, and was probably worn by a wider circle of high-ranking Venetian officials and senators).

This portrait is very close to Jacopo Tintoretto's style, and was most probably presented to the sitter as a production of the artist's studio, carrying Jacopo's name. In his last years, however, Jacopo appears to have been concerned more with generating commissions, seeking payments, and planning the compositions of large paintings for various prestigious settings in Venice; very few, if any, works from the 1590s show much evidence of his own brush. Domenico, who was playing an increasingly important role in the studio, was developing his own portrait style, and the quality of this portrait may be reflective of his involvement with this important commission.

A related painting of this sitter is recorded in the Zeri Archive as formerly in the Lazzaroni collection in Rome and Paris. It is inscribed with the date of 1591.³

We are grateful to Dr Frederick Ilchman for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot on the basis of a digital image.

¹ An imposing portrait by Jacopo Tintoretto, circa 1580, today in the National Gallery of Art, Washington (inv. no. 1952.5.79), has in the past been identified as Francesco Duodo, but this is now no longer thought to be the case: https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.41694.html

² https://www.wga.hu/html_m/v/vittoria/2/duodo1.html

³ http://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/opera/80833/Anonimo%20sec.%20XVI%2C%20Ritratto%20di%20Domenico%20Duodo