Domenico Robusti, called Domenico Tintoretto

Domenico Tintoretto likely executed this striking portrait in the first decade of the seventeenth century. After training in the workshop of his father, Jacopo Tintoretto, in the 1570s and working alongside him to decorate the Doge's Palace, Domenico embarked on an independent career that primarily focused on portraits. While Jacopo’s influence may be gleaned in the portrait’s format and chromatic austerity, the direct manner in which the sitter addresses the viewer also recalls El Greco’s portraits from the 1580s, when he spent time in Venice.

Set against a neutral, almost unfinished, background, the sitter fixes his large almond-shaped brown eyes directly on the spectator. The extravagant white ruff frames his angular face—with arched eyebrows, high cheekbones, and a pointed moustache and goatee—further concentrating attention on the incisive gaze. Although the sitter has yet to be identified, he was likely a member of the Venetian nobility: the brocaded black fabric, gold chain, and kid skin glove all accentuate his material wealth. 

We are grateful to Peter Humfrey for first suggesting the attribution to Domenico Tintoretto and a date of circa 1600-1610.