Jacopo Tintoretto’s Trinità cycle paintings on view April 18–August 31, 2025

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CINCINNATI — February 27, 2025 — In the early 1550s, Renaissance painter Jacopo Tintoretto (1518–1594) made a series of paintings for the Scuola della Trinità in Venice depicting scenes from the Book of Genesis. Now, after a year-long study and restoration project, three of these paintings— The Creation of the Animals, The Temptation of Adam, and Cain and Abel—will be shown together for the first time in the United States at the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) from April 18 to August 31, 2025.

Tintoretto’s Genesis is a research, conservation, exhibition and publication project undertaken by Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia (GAVe); Foundation for Italian Art and Culture, New York (FIAC); and CAM to restore and preserve these important works, while enhancing scholarly understanding and public awareness of their creator, the great Venetian Renaissance painter Tintoretto. With the support of FIAC and CAM, the paintings, which are part of GAVe’s collection, underwent imaging, technical analysis and restoration in the organization’s conservation facilities in Venice.

“Our colleagues in Venice have used the most up-to-date technologies and drawn upon their deep art historical and scientific knowledge to generate a great amount of information about how these important paintings were made, as well as a new understanding of their original commission and installation, and their life across the subsequent four and a quarter centuries,” says Peter Jonathan Bell, Curator of European Paintings, Sculpture & Drawings at CAM and coordinating curator and editor for this project. “Thanks to this initiative, the paintings’ colors have regained their proper tones, their forms are clear, and the illusion of space, volume and action that Tintoretto created so masterfully are again fully on display in the scenes.”

In January 2026, following the conclusion of Tintoretto’s Genesis, the restored paintings will be reinstalled permanently in a renovated gallery in the GAVe.

Painted for the Scuola della Santissima Trinità, a charitable organization in Venice, in the early 1550s, just as the artist was coming into his maturity, the paintings display Tintoretto’s vigorous brushwork, dynamic compositions and extraordinary creativity. The paintings mark the beginning of Tintoretto’s rise as the powerhouse of Venetian Renaissance painting—a position he would hold for the following four decades.

Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto because his father was a fabric dyer (tintore), was one of the leading Venetian painters during the sixteenth century. With his bold use of perspective, dramatic compositions, and free brushwork, Tintoretto made a name for himself beyond his influences, who included Michelangelo (1475–1564) and Titian (1488–1576). Today, Tintoretto is best known for his comprehensive decoration of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. He executed over sixty paintings for that confraternity’s magisterial meeting rooms and church over the course of his career.

The exhibition will also feature several prints from CAM’s own collection, showing the lasting influence and appeal of the large paintings Tintoretto made for civic spaces across Venice, such as the Scuola della Trinità canvases.

A book detailing the results of the scientific study and restoration project, including an enriched understanding of this important early period in the career of the great Renaissance artist, will be available for purchase in the museum’s gift shop this summer.

The Foundation for Italian Art and Culture in New York is a non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating the loan of Italian masterpieces to the U.S. and fostering the appreciation and promotion of Italian culture. This project marks the fourth collaboration between CAM and FIAC. The Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia houses the most important collection of Venetian art in the world. The GAVe, FIAC and CAM came together in 2019 to exhibit Giorgione’s enigmatic painting La Vecchia in the U.S. after its transformative conservation treatment.

The exhibition was organized by the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Foundation for Italian Art & Culture with the participation of the Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia. Generous support is provided by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

Tintoretto’s Genesis will be on view in the Vance Waddell and Mayerson Galleries (Galleries 124 and 125) located across from the Terrace Café. No tickets are required. General admission and parking at the Cincinnati Art Museum are also free. Photography is permitted, but no flash.  On social media, use the hashtag #TintorettosGenesis.

Upcoming, related events:

Members Opening, 5–7 p.m., Thursday, April 17, Cincinnati Art Museum 
Museum members are invited to view the exhibition before it opens to the public and enjoy light bites and a cash bar. Free for members. 

Exhibition Lecture with Frederick Ilchman, Chair, Art of Europe, and Mrs. Russell W. Baker Curator of Paintings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 7–8 p.m., Thursday, April 17, Cincinnati Art Museum
Details to be announced. Tickets will be available on the museum’s website.

Interfaith Dialog on the Book of Genesis. Details to be announced.

Schedule subject to change. Visit cincinnatiartmuseum.org for the latest information. 

About the Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Art Museum features a diverse, encyclopedic art collection of more than 73,000 works spanning 6,000 years. In addition to displaying its own broad collection, the museum conducts extensive research and creates and organizes several exhibitions each year. It also hosts national and international traveling exhibitions. Through these critical projects and art-related programs, activities, and special events, the museum contributes to a more vibrant Cincinnati by inspiring its people and connecting its communities.

 The Cincinnati Art Museum is supported by the generosity of individuals and businesses that give annually to ArtsWave. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Cincinnati Art Museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Cincinnati Art Museum gratefully acknowledges operating support from the City of Cincinnati, as well as its members. Free general admission to the Cincinnati Art Museum is made possible by a gift from the Rosenthal Family Foundation. Generous support for the museum’s extended Thursday hours is provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program. Exhibition pricing may vary. Parking at the Cincinnati Art Museum is free. More information is available at cincinnatiartmuseum.org.

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