Real Tintoretto Is Named

Spanish art historians have renamed one of Italy’s greatest painters, reports Martin Bailey for the Art Newspaper. Specialists at the Prado have established that Tintoretto’s family name was Comin. This revelation will be presented at a major retrospective of Tintoretto (1519–94) that opens in Madrid on January 29. Until now, all that was known for certain was the artist’s Christian name, Jacopo. Tintoretto was his nickname, based on the fact that his father, Giovanni, was a dyer (tinto means "dyer," and Jacopo may have been short in stature). The family also had a second nickname, Robusti. The revelation that Tintoretto’s family name was Comin (the word means “cumin” in the local dialect) is the result of research following publication of an article in a Spanish journal two years ago, written by Fernando Checa, a former director of the Prado. This discovery may make it possible to trace other archival references to the artist. Irish Art