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Portrait of Doge Pietro Loredan
Jacopo Tintoretto·1568
Historical Context
Tintoretto's Portrait of Doge Pietro Loredan depicts the head of the Venetian Republic — the elected duke whose office combined ceremonial authority with the executive power of the state — in the formal portrait mode appropriate to his position. Loredan served as Doge from 1567 to 1570, his tenure coinciding with the period of the great Ottoman naval confrontation that culminated in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Tintoretto's Doge portraits document the succession of men who held this highest office of the Republic with his characteristic combination of formal dignity and individual characterization — the official mask and the private face visible simultaneously.
Technical Analysis
The gold-embroidered ducal robes are rendered with bold, summary brushwork, while the aging doge's face is characterized with penetrating directness that conveys both the dignity of office and the frailty of the man.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the gold-embroidered ducal robes rendered with bold, summary brushwork that establishes their ceremonial richness.
- ◆Look at the aging Doge's face characterized with penetrating directness, simultaneously conveying the dignity of office and the frailty of age.
- ◆Observe the distinctive corno (ducal cap) that identifies the subject's rank as head of the Venetian Republic.
- ◆The portrait combines official state image with the private humanity that Tintoretto consistently finds in his official subjects.
- ◆Find the contrast between the broadly handled robes and the more careful attention to the face's individual character.
