Tintoretto stars at Washington's National Gallery

(ANSA) - Washington, March 20 - Tintoretto (1518-1594) is starring at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, which is dedicating three exhibits to the Venetian genius on the 500th anniversary of his birth.
    The first show is "Tintoretto: artist of Venetian Renaissance", to be inaugurated on March 24 at the Gallery, its only venue following its opening at the Lagoon City's Palazzo Ducale. The show was presented on Tuesday in Washington at an event attended, among others, by the new director of the museum, Kaywin Feldman, Italy's ambassador to the US, Armando Varricchio, the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, and the show's two curators, Frederick Ilchman and Robert Echols, who then attended a gala event hosted by the Italian ambassador.
    Organized in cooperation with Venice's Fondazione dei Musei Civici and Gallerie dell'Accademia, it will be the first retrospective dedicated to Tintoretto in North America.
    The exhibit will showcase 46 paintings, including 20 loaned by Venice and several that have never been shown in the US, like the Last Supper for the Church of San Trovaso and the Madonna dei Camerlenghi.
    Some of the masterpieces, including the San Marziale in Gloria from the church by the same name in Cannareggio, have been restored and maintained by Save Venice, an organization that raises money to preserve the city's art treasures.
    Twelve drawings will also be on display.
    Among the most important masterworks on show are the Virgin and Child with Saints and The Conversion of Saint Paul.
    One gallery will also be dedicated to portraits as part of an exhibit that vies to give a sweeping into one of the greatest and most influential western painters.
    Two additional exhibitions have been planned to mark the anniversary.
    One is 'Drawing in Tintoretto's Venice' (March 24-May 26), at the Morgan Library in New York, which will focus on the artist's drawings and will include works by Titian, Veronese and Jacopo da Bassano, including some 80 works.
    'Venetian prints in the time of Tintoretto' (over the same period) will instead showcase 40 prints, mostly from the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, including etchings by Parmigianino and Giuseppe Scolari, who were a very important source of inspiration for the Venetian maestro.
    "Thanks to Tintoretto's work, America is celebrating Italy, its creative genius, its culture and its history", said Varricchio, announcing an international event dedicated to the artist scheduled on Thursday at the embassy.