Timeless Tintoretto review – the Italian artist who brought Heaven down to Earth

Jackie Wullschlager | Financial Times | 16th September 2026

Even in his day, Tintoretto was revered. A contemporary called him “the most formidable mind painting has ever known.” Venice born and bred he trained with Titian. Whereas Titian painted with “stately grace”, Tintoretto wanted drama – hasty brushstrokes, “bold” colours, contorted bodies, dramatic light effects. These attributes proved influential among later artists. His brushstrokes “energise the entire surface in ways that Joan Mitchell or Jackson Pollock would certainly recognise.”