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'Tintoretto' documentary kicks off series in Whitefish

by Sally Murdock Special to This Week in Flathead
| September 26, 2019 4:00 AM

Three Great Art on Screen broadcasts will be shown this fall at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. This art series is brought to you by the Whitefish Arts Council, which also brings Met opera broadcasts to the Whitefish Performing Arts Center.

Starting this month, cinema audiences continue to journey all over the world — from Italy in a celebration of the life and canvases of Tintoretto, the last great artist of the Italian Renaissance, to the lush island of Tahiti which proved to be Gauguin’s most inspired panoramic backdrop, and finally to Madrid with Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons hosting the first cinematic romp through the Prado Museum, one of the most visited museums in the world.

Great Art on Screen documentaries feature some of the most extraordinary and groundbreaking art masters of their time. Produced by BY Experience/HD, these entertaining documentaries run approximately 90 minutes each, making them an attractive tight-knit story geared to art lovers and history buffs. They are well-suited for adult lifelong learners, high school students, and college art and art history students.

“Tintoretto: A Rebel in Venice” immerses audiences in the life of the last great artist of the Italian Renaissance who spent his entire life in Venice. Born in 1518 to a dyer of textiles, Jocopo Comin was given the nickname Tintoretto (“dyer’s son”). When young Tintoretto began painting on the walls of his father’s studio, his dad sent him to the Venetian artist Titian for instruction. Tintoretto was soon dismissed by his teacher either out of jealousy for Tintoretto’s natural ability or because Titian recognized that the spirited young man would not be a good student. Tintoretto was self-taught for the rest of his artistic career, which ended with his monumental painting “Paradise” — one of the largest paintings on canvas ever done (approximately 75 x 30 feet). Accompanied by the enchanting voice of two-time Academy Award nominee Helena Bonham Carter, cinema audiences will visit places in Venice that evoke and preserve Tintoretto’s memory including the State Archives, the Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Square, the Church of San Rocco, and more — all in celebration of the 500th anniversary of Tintoretto’s birth.

Mark your calendars for two more “Great Art on Screen” broadcasts at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center:

- “Gauguin in Tahiti: Paradise Lost” — Saturday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. (possibly followed by a Stumptown Art Studio painting class on-stage; more information will provided in October)

- “The Prado Museum: A Collection of Wonders” — Friday, Nov.15, at 7:30 p.m.

The Great Art on Screen series is only available at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, not at cinemas that broadcast Met operas.