Tintoretto to Tintoretta — Where are the Renaissance Women?
By: Grace Palmer
Tags: Women, Art History, Tintoretto, Art, Renaissance

If I say the phrase Renaissance art what does that connote for you? Perhaps you think of the great masters: Raphael, Michelangelo, or Leonardo Da Vinci. Maybe you even think of artists such as Titian or Durer; of god-like male statues or heroic kings immortalized in paint. But what do each one of these examples have in common? They are all men. Our understanding of the Renaissance has been shaped by the work of a male-dominated area overlooking the role of women. Is it just that women were incapable of doing art? Or is that the social structures implemented both during the Renaissance and in contemporary history fail to acknowledge the impact of female artists? In this article, I would like to explore one of the clearest examples of a dominant male rhetoric, that being the art of Marietta Robusti — more commonly known as Tintoretta.

Little is known about the life of Robusti, apart from being the daughter of renowned painter, Tintoretto. The lack of her biographical narrative is not rare for pre-Industrial women, as many male historians deemed their presence unworthy of an historical recount. The predominance of art historians, such as Vasari, reinforced the presence of men within art. Women were considered below the realms of ‘pure art’, therefore their histories were irrelevant in the construction of Renaissance ‘perfection’. Following conventions, Robusti painted for a domestic sphere — isolating her work to a feminine realm with very little status within the art market. This restricted transposition of artwork formed the hierarchy between male and female artists, meaning so many women are lost to the test of time. This is impounded through only one art piece attributed to Robusti, her Self-Portrait. The portrait has removed her identity and placed it under the male gaze. The inclusion of Verdelot’s madrigal text values the role of her husband rather than her role as both sitter and artist. Quoting from the text, it reads ‘My lady I burn with love for you’, promoting Robusti’s purpose as a loving wife over any other representational aspects. At the same time, this presupposition ignores the artistic skill of Robusti, with her incredible attention to detail in the accuracy of the music sheet and the delicate brushstrokes of her hair. Robusti is displaying her intellectual identity against female oppression, and yet history has remembered her work in line with the prominence of her husband.

Robusti. Self Portrait. c. 1550–1590. La Gallerie Degli Uffizi.

As I mentioned above, Robusti is referred to as Tintoretta — a play on her father’s name. Tintoretto is arguably one of the most established painters of the 16th Century, influencing artists with his bold, enigmatic brushstrokes. However, Robusti’s role in his workshop was far more than familial connection — it is likely she contributed to many of his pieces. One of Tintoretto’s most acclaimed works, Old Man and a Boy can be attributed to her. It shares similar motifs to Self Portrait with the dark tonality and vacant background. The brushstrokes on the old man’s chair are much more controlled than Tintoretto tended to be, closer in style to that of Robusti’s clothing details. Even the posture and face shape of the boy match directly to Robusti’s self-representation, through the sorrowful, oval eyes. Undeniably Robusti played a demonstrative role in the creation of this portrait, and yet the credit was reserved solely for her father. Of course, we can argue that had it not been for her father, the name Marietta Robusti would be empty from the history books — but it does not take away from the reality that she lived under his shadow. Not only was she synonymous with his character [being labelled Tintoretta], but her work was not deemed worthy of accreditation because of her gender.

Tintoretto and Robusti. Old Man and a Boy. c. 1565. Kunsthistorisches Museum.

But it is not all doom and gloom. Robusti acted as a signpost for other female artists, with Gentileschi and Leyster appearing in the Baroque period. She became symbolic as the catalyst for women breaking out of their family’s workshops and forging their path within the art world — even if she was unable to do so. The example of Robusti is emblematic of all the women who strived to see their artwork appreciated beyond the domestic realm. She identifies how history is created in this patriarchal system in which women are given note only in conjunction with their male relations. I know that there are thousands of female painters from the Renaissance that are overlooked, and it is our role in the 21st Century to re-write history to be inclusive. Of course, I would be remiss to ignore the reality that female artists of the Renaissance still held a privileged position to even attempt art, and that too is a systematic constriction we need to overcome, to form a diverse understanding of the past.