Figures and Legs 1575 - 1580

Curator: Right now we’re looking at “Figures and Legs,” a pencil drawing created around 1575 to 1580 by Jacopo Tintoretto. Editor: I’m immediately struck by the… raw energy of it. It’s a jumble of limbs, sketched with such visible speed. You can practically feel the artist working to capture movement. Curator: Absolutely. For Tintoretto and his contemporaries, the body was the vessel, really, the most tangible connection to the divine. The way the body moved reflected its inner life. You see here that preoccupation with musculature, this Renaissance emphasis on capturing idealized, classical forms. It’s no accident, then, that even fragments of the body carry such… resonance. Editor: And speaking of fragments, it’s fascinating to see how he’s working through form and construction with line and material. I’m thinking about how drawings such as this provided crucial practical preparation, laying bare an artist's methods. Tintoretto’s hand is visible here. Curator: Exactly, they point toward how symbols function within a culture. Each line has its own symbolic association tied to concepts such as the hero and the god. I keep seeing intimations of Saint Sebastian or other martyred figures when looking at this sheet. Editor: Yes, and I keep thinking about the anonymous models. I am thinking, who are these men and how many hours did they pose in Tintoretto’s studio? Here you can imagine labor, the social relations between the master and those he employed to give his vision form. Curator: Both methods combine really allow me to interpret the images even better! The drawing showcases a powerful engagement with culturally significant images and symbols, that also invites questions about labor within a workshop system and the circulation of artistic knowledge. Editor: Looking again, the materiality is equally present within this pencil. I think that drawing forces us to think in great detail of the ways paintings are crafted through materiality and process. Curator: Thinking through material is so helpful, I agree! To see the marks that connect them together! Editor: So the pencil connects our work. Thanks for opening up those connections between the hand and the spirit, for me!