David Bowie's Tintoretto will return to Venice in 2019

Returning to Venice for the 2019 Biennale will be the altarpiece that Tintoretto (real name Jacopo Robusti, Venice, 1519 - 1594) painted between 1560 and 1570 for the church of San Geminiano in Venice, later demolished in 1807. It is certainly one of the least successful paintings by the great Venetian painter (who probably resorted to extensive workshop help), but famous in that it once also belonged to David Bowie, who bought it for his own art collection (an unusual fact, since the famous singer mostly collected contemporary art). After Bowie’s passing in January 2016, his collection was auctioned by Sotheby’s in late 2016, and the Tintoretto work was purchased by a Flemish collector who turned it over on loan to the Rubenshuis in Antwerp.

The work, which depicts theAngel preaching to St. Catherine of Alexandria about her martyrdom, can be dated between 1560 and 1570 and can currently be admired at the Rubens House-Museum itself: it is the first work by an Italian artist exhibited at the Rubenshuis. In recent days, however, the museum has confirmed that the painting, in 2019, will be exhibited in Italy, and the occasion will be offered by the 2019 Venice Biennale. In particular, an exhibition strongly desired by the director of the Rubenshuis, Ben van Beneden, and dedicated precisely to the demolished church of San Geminiano (it was located in St. Mark’s Square, on the opposite side of the basilica) will be staged, and Tintoretto’s altarpiece will play an important role within the exhibition itinerary. Also on display will be works by Flemish artists (such as Pieter Paul Rubens, Antoon van Dyck, and Maerten de Vos) that will demonstrate how artists from Flanders drew ample inspiration from the works of Italian painters.

The exhibition that will enable the return of Tintoretto’s work to Venice, said the Flemish government’s minister of tourism, Ben Weyts, will be “not only a fine opportunity to showcase Tintoretto’s work to Venetians and the international public during the Biennale, but also a ’unique opportunity to introduce the Flemish Masters to the very place where they were inspired by the Italian painters and the legacy of the ancients, hoping to awaken public attention to the incredible artistic quality of our heritage and to inspire an international audience to come and admire this heritage in Flanders.”

Pictured: Tintoretto, Angel Preaching to St. Catherine of Alexandria on Her Martyrdom (c. 1560-1570; oil on canvas, Antwerp, Private Collection, on loan to the Rubenshuis)

David Bowie's Tintoretto will return to Venice in 2019

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