Venetian Soldiers Attacking Constantinople (recto)
1598/1605
Medium
brush and tempers on dark brown paper (top and bottom left corners made up)
Dimensions
overall: 31.5 × 19.4 cm (12 3/8 × 7 5/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Purchased as the Gift of Alexander M. and Judith W. Laughlin
Accession Number
2007.111.175.a
Art Historical Context
Domenico Tintoretto, son of the celebrated Venetian master Jacopo Tintoretto, created this dynamic drawing around 1598–1605. The scene captures Venetian soldiers storming the walls of Constantinople, evoking the dramatic events of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, when Venetian forces played a decisive role in the city’s conquest. Rendered in brush and tempera on richly toned dark brown paper, the work uses bold contrasts and fluid strokes to convey the energy and turmoil of battle within its modest 31.5 × 19.4 cm format. As a preparatory study, the drawing reveals Tintoretto’s interest in dramatic...
About the Artist
Domenico Tintoretto
Son and assistant of the famous Venetian painter, Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto. He is known primarily as a portrait painter, although Domenico executed other subjects as well. Comment on works: religious, mythology, Portraits