Summer

A visual representation of summer as a woman is seen here laying in the grass surrounded by images that makes one think of summer. The woman is thought to be the Roman goddess Ceres, who presided over agriculture and grains. Behind the goddess, there is a line of wheat stalks in the layer just above the sky. These symbolize Ceres' symbol of wheat. A tree with clusters of grapes grows above her - an interesting choice, as in Roman mythology grapes were the symbol of Bacchus. She is also surrounded by several exotic birds, both a parrot and a few bluebirds, that in this case symbolized the wealth of the house that commissioned the work. 

The actual figure of Summer, or Ceres, is painted in a way that is seen as the height of beauty in Venice. She has a soft face and blonde, almost red, braided hair. She is looking down, so that her eyes can be shaded. The overall style of the work is done with very quick brushstrokes that almost look like a sketch. This was a common Venetian style, with stories being told of how Venetian artists didn't have time to sketch out and create a foundation for their large, genius works. Tintoretto was espeically famous for this, creating energetic and exotic colors and applying them in quick, rapid brushstrokes. This painting is not his most dramatic in these styles, and they got progressively more dramatic throughout his works.

There are three different "season" paintings that includes this work - Spring, Fall, and Summer. A Winter painting has not been found. The light and bright colors and the flowers seen show the warmth and flora of the summer season. Tintoretto was a unique, self taught painter with his own style, but his works are still distinctly Venetian.

Jacopo Tinoretto

Echols, Robert. “Summer.” Italian Paintings of the 16th Century. National Gallery of Art. Accessed September 23, 2020. https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.46189.html.

Rowland, Ingrad D. “The Fantastical Little Dyer.” The American Scholar, March 4, 2019. https://theamericanscholar.org/the-fantastical-little-dyer/.

Padua, Pat. “Tintoretto, The Renaissance 'Challenger,' Gets A Long-Overdue U.S. Show At The National Gallery of Art.” DCist. WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio, March 22, 2019. https://dcist.com/story/19/03/22/tintoretto-the-renaissance-challenger-gets-a-long-overdue-u-s-show-at-the-national-gallery-of-art/.

The National Gallery of Art

c. 1555

Julia Curd

105.7 x 193 cm

Painting

The National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.