Tintoretto’s Genesis

April 18–September 1, 2025

Vance Waddell and Mayerson Galleries (Galleries 124 and 125)
Free Admission

In the early 1550s, Jacopo Tintoretto (1518–1594) made a series of large paintings depicting scenes from the Book of Genesis for the Scuola della Trinità, a charitable organization in Venice. Painted just as the artist was coming into his maturity, these canvases display a fusion of Michelangelo’s forceful conception of the figure, Titian’s renowned colorism, and Tintoretto’s own vigorous brushwork, dynamic compositions, and command of the workshop system. The paintings mark the beginning of Tintoretto’s rise as the powerhouse of Venetian Renaissance painting—a position he would hold for the next four decades.

Tintoretto’s Genesis is the culmination of a research and conservation project undertaken by the Gallerie dell’Accademia di Venezia, and supported by the Foundation for Italian Art and Culture and the Cincinnati Art Museum. The exhibition in Cincinnati will debut three paintings from Tintoretto’s Trinità cycle—Cain and Abel, The Temptation of Adam, and The Creation of the Animals—following a year-long campaign of imaging, technical analysis and restoration in the conservation facilities of the Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice. The museum will publish a book detailing the results of the project, including an enriched understanding of this important period in the career of the great Renaissance artist.

This 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.

This exhibition is generously supported by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.