The View From Venice; Even Titian was jealous of Tintoretto's talent.

Byline: Nina Scott

Tintoretto was the last great painter of the Italian Renaissance, mastering the most advanced techniques of his day and then infusing them with his startling imagination. Yet it has been 70 years since he starred in an exhibition all his own--in part because he lived and worked exclusively in Venice, where he painted gargantuan canvases that could not be safely moved. Now Madrid's Prado Museum is making up for lost time; though "Tintoretto" (through May 13) has left the master's massive religious narratives bolted to their Venetian walls, it brings together 49 other paintings in the first comprehensive show of his work in Spain, and the first significant exhibition outside Venice since 1937.

From the opening image, viewers get a glimpse of what made Tintoretto the envy of his painterly peers. A self-portrait of the young artist stares frankly over his shoulder, his coat velvety black, his face dark and handsome, with a devilish beard. Animated and penetrating, he appears to be gazing simultaneously into a mirror and into the viewer's soul. Beyond, his other works follow chronologically down the Prado's beautiful central gallery. Richly framed, brightly lit and hung at eye level, they afford an unprecedented view of his unusual brushstrokes, extraordinary perspective and magical lighting effects. "Everyone knows Tintoretto--even Woody Allen knows him in that movie ['Everyone Says I Love You']--and everyone loves Tintoretto, but I am absolutely sure that no one can give you the title of one of his paintings," says Miguel Falomir, the exhibition's curator. "This is an opportunity to rediscover one of the greatest artists in the history of painting."

As the story goes, Jacopo Robusti--who became known as Tintoretto because his father was a dyer, or tintore --was born in 1518 and entered Titian's Venice workshop at the age of 12, lasting 10 days before the master booted him out, jealous of the kid's potential. Before long Tintoretto approached Titian's skill as a colorist. Meanwhile, Michelangelo was ...