From 7 September 2018 to 6 January 2019
Venezia, Palazzo Ducale – Doge’s Apartments
For adults
TINTORETTO 1519-1594
Guided tours
The exhibition
The guided tour of the major exhibition hosted in the Doge’s apartment in the Doge’s Palace for the 500th anniversary of the artist’s birth enables us to understand the fundamental characteristics of this brilliant, prolific and incredibly “modern” painter, who left an indelible mark in the history of Venetian art, from close up. It also allows us to understand his working methods and to explore the many aspects of his production – from Tintoretto the narrator of mythological and religious stories to Tintoretto the portraitist, draughtsman and “official” painter of the Republic – thanks also to very important masterpieces that are returning to Venice for the occasion, loaned from leading museums around the world.
Duration: 2 hours.
Languages: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Russian.
The exhibition & the museum
It is also available a combined tour including the major Tintoretto 1519/1594 exhibition in the apartment of the Doge and the institutional rooms of the Palazzo, to discover the works painted here by the artist and still to be found in the places for which they were created.
This itinerary is accessible by purchasing the museum ticket and thus benefiting from the special reduction of the exhibition ticket to just 2 euros.
Duration: 2½ hours.
Languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish, Russian.
THE YOUNG TINTORETTO & TINTORETTO 1519-1594
Two great exhibitions
The five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Tintoretto is being celebrated throughout Venice. Two major exhibitions, one at the Gallerie dell’Accademia (The young Tintoretto) and the other at the Palazzo Ducale (Tintoretto 1519-1594), enable visitors to learn more about the brilliant complexity of this giant of sixteenth-century Venetian painting. To this end, a guided tour through both venues, available on Fridays and Saturdays, has been planned: at the Gallerie dell’Accademia it will be possible to discover the young Tintoretto and the artistic and cultural environment in which he learned his trade, while at the Palazzo Ducale, the exhibition in the Doge’s apartment reveals the mature Tintoretto and the different aspects of his production, including the extraordinary and personal way in which he worked.
Duration: 3 hours.
Languages: Italian, English, French.
For schools
For secondary schools (students aged 15+) and for the Higher Education System (universities, institutions of artistic training, etc.)
TINTORETTO A “MODERN” PAINTER
Dynamic tours
The exhibition
Why did Tintoretto (Venice, 1519-1594) stand out from the outset of his career as being a “different” painter, controversial, loved but also opposed? Why do we define him a “modern” painter? Moreover, how does his artistic and human development fit in with the context of his time, with the Republic of Venice and its social and political organisation, with the Catholic reaction to the Protestant Reformation, and what was his relationship with the giants of the Italian Renaissance? There are many ideas for reflection that this guided visit affords us, thanks to the structure of the exhibition, which is didactically effective and well-suited to an understanding of the artist’s methods of work and the many aspects of his production.
Duration: 2 hours.
The exhibition & the museum
This itinerary includes a visit to both the exhibition in the Doge’s apartment and the Palazzo’s rooms that are decorated with the artist’s work: from Tintoretto, narrator of mythological and religious stories to Tintoretto as portraitist and draughtsman, we will then move on to Tintoretto as the Republic’s “official” painter, observing the works in the locations for which they were conceived. This possibility is of fundamental importance, given the special attention paid by Tintoretto to the relationship of painting with the context in which it was placed.
Duration: 2½ hours
Both the itineraries are available in Italian, English, French, Spanish.
For primary (9-11 year-olds) and secondary schools (11-14 year-olds)
Active tour
Discovering a Venetian master: Tintoretto in the Doge’s Palace between exhibition and museum
This extraordinary active tour, with many things to do and to understand, involves both the exhibition set up in the apartment of the Doge, and the institutional rooms of the Palace decorated with works by Tintoretto. In the exhibition, a targeted tour will allow us to draw close to the artist and understand some fundamental characteristics of his work and his character. In the Palazzo, with our by-now “expert” eyes, we will go in search of his works, which are still to be found today in the spaces for which they were created, and – thanks to a variety of games and educational stimuli – we will establish a contact with these masterpieces and be able to feel them “closer”.
Duration: 2 hours
Languages: Italian, English, French
Workshop
At work with Tintoretto!
Tintoretto astonished his contemporaries and caused them to talk about his way of working, which was so bold, free, fast, focused on the human figure, and because of his ability to express himself in very difficult and large spaces… How did Tintoretto proceed from the first idea of a figure to the final composition? How did he use lines and colours? How did the drawings he produced help him? How were colours prepared in his day? After a very selective visit to the exhibition, and in particular to the section dedicated to the artist’s way of working, in the workshop we will experience, first-hand, the transition from drawing to painting, the making of colours with pigments, and will discover some “tricks” to obtain special effects. We will understand many things while having fun.
Duration: 2½ hours
Language: Italian
For families
A giant to understand: Tintoretto in the Doge’s Palace, between exhibition and museum
Active tour
This tour is designed for children but is done together with their parents. It takes place partly in the Tintoretto 1519-1594 exhibition in the Doge’s apartment, but also in the institutional rooms of the Palazzo decorated with the artist’s works. Throughout, there will be many “things to do”. In the exhibition, we will make acquaintance with Tintoretto and we will try to understand some fundamental characteristics of his work and his character. In the Palazzo, with our by-now “expert” eyes, we will go in search of his works, which are still to be found today in the spaces for which they were created, and – thanks to a variety of games and educational stimuli – we will establish a contact with these masterpieces and be able to feel them “closer”.
Recommended age for children: 8/14.
Duration: 2 hours.
Languages: Italian, English, French.
For all
Tintoretto in Venice
Self-guided tour around the town
During his long and prolific career, Tintoretto worked above all in the city: today in Venice, it is still possible to admire many of his works, often in the places for which they were conceived. Thanks to all this, the city itself offers an extraordinary and widespread “permanent exhibition” of Tintoretto’s oeuvre. A convenient leaflet – also available in the form of a digital app – enables you to seek out these sites, some of which very famous and others not so well-known. Some are cultural institutions, others places of worship, and the map also offers some unusual itineraries off the beaten track in areas of the city that are quieter and extremely fascinating.
Thanks to the collaboration of the Patriarchate of Venice and local associations, some churches offer – in addition to the normal opening hours – a reception/tour service for visitors on Friday and Saturday. Free admission is also granted to churches that normally require charge entry to all ticket holders of the Palazzo Ducale or the Gallerie dell’Accademia exhibitions.
The leaflet is available free to the visitors of Doge’s Palace exhibition or to those who purchase one of the educational activities accompanying it.
Languages: Italian, English.
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