A Study of Tintoretto
Tintoretto. By Eric Newton. (Longmans. 50s.).
Tim author of this study of Tintoretto keeps a busy eye on the vast oeuvre of the painter through 214 pages. He transmits much'infor- mation in a loquacious style that is easy to peruse, and he has under- taken the task with considerable enterprise. It might be a mistake to pause and reflect upon some of the generalisations. It seems to me that statements, whether in reference to the essential character of Tintoretto's art, or its relation to the work, of contemporaries, or its place in the history of art, are sometimes considerably modified by several subsequent, though little related, statements. However, as we proceed, the atmosphere of special pleading thins, and out of the drift a fair appreciation emerges of Tintoretto's character and of several aspects of his painting. There are excellent pages about his attitude to the nude and to ritual ; the most valuable, it seems, in the book. An interesting section describes the functions of the Scuola San Rocco and of other Venetian Scuole.
What is really surprising is the absence of references to Venice as a place. Mr. Newton would be the first to recognise that not even (as he might feel) Tintoretto can be isolated from his time and its society ; but he has not seen that Tintoretto is die of the painters who least lend themselves to an analysis that disregards the daily landscape or seascape. (I noticed only one reference of the kind.) This is the more surprising because the discovery of Tintoretto is associated in the experience of most of us—for Ruskin too—with the impact of Venice herself ; and this, not only because nearly all Tintoretto's greatest paintings are there still. Surely the type of long Venetian countenance, for instance, is a consideration relevant to one of Tintoretto's prevalent forms ; and such perceptions as the seeming rushing speed of a leisurely boat as it is beached. The best prepara- tions for the Scuola San Rocco are Venetian palaces and canals, particularly the chiaroscuro in side-canals with the darting prows of passing gondolas between massive walls. There is a handy and abstract formulation, some would say, of all such matters—architec- ture. Mr. Newton displays at no point a heightened awareness of building, the ubiquitous art ; and he cannot probe, he hardly seems conscious of, the immense range of Cinquecento creativeness, if ws except Tintoretto's, compared with our own. Some readers may find that Mr. Newton's general and particular remarks about.colour are particularly inopportune in view of his subject ; and that they have been determined by the same apparent lack of architectural interest.
The 76 illustrations are well reproduced. A allowed reproduction figures as frontispiece. There is an interesting appendix by Mrs. Newton (Stella Pearce) on sixteenth century costume and fashion in their bearing on the difficult matter of dating many of Tintoretto's paintings.
ADRIAN STOKES.
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