Tintoretto was one of the leading artists of the Venetian Renaissance. Tintoretto’s real name was Jacopo Comin, and he is also called Jacopo Robusti, but he came to be known as 'il Furioso' for the high speed at which he produced paintings. He was born in Venice in 1518 and was the son of a cloth dyer; the name 'Tintoretto' translates into 'little dyer'. His father saw artistic talent in his son and took him to train as a painter under the artist Titian, another leading artist of the Venetian Renaissance. According to stories, Titian was so jealous of Tintoretto's talent that he sent his young pupil away after only ten days.

Tintoretto worked in Venice throughout his life, winning many prestigious commissions for churches, the scuoli or meeting houses and state rooms in the Doge’s palace