Artwork
The battle of Taro
The battle of Taro is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Jacopo Tintoretto. It dates from 1590 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The scene illustrates the clash between the French forces of King Charles VIII and a coalition army from Venice and Milan commanded by Francesco II Gonzaga.
The painting depicts the Battle of Fornovo, also known as the Battle of the Taro, a violent engagement fought on July 6, 1495. The scene illustrates the clash between the French forces of King Charles VIII and a coalition army from Venice and Milan commanded by Francesco II Gonzaga. This historical event marked the decisive moment when the Italian League, supported by Emperor Maximilian and Spanish sovereigns, forced Charles VIII to retreat from Naples and eventually withdraw from Italy entirely.
As part of the Fasti gonzagheschi, a cycle of eight canvases commissioned by Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga, the work functions as dynastic propaganda. It specifically glorifies Francesco II Gonzaga's leadership and military prowess in defending Italian territories against foreign invasion, cementing the Gonzaga family's legacy within the Ducal Palace of Mantova.
Technique & Style
The Battle of Taro is an oil painting executed on canvas by Jacopo Tintoretto between 1578 and 1579. As a work of the Venetian school and Mannerism, it belongs to the Fasti gonzagheschi cycle commissioned by Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga. The large-scale composition measures 269.5 cm in height and 422 cm in width.
The artist utilized oil paint to depict the violent Battle of Fornovo, employing the fluid handling characteristic of the Venetian tradition to render the chaotic clash between French troops and the Venetian-Milanese coalition. The painting was originally created for the Palazzo Ducale in Mantova before entering the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
History & Provenance
Jacopo Tintoretto executed this oil on canvas between 1578 and 1579. The work was commissioned by Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga as part of a series of eight paintings known as the Fasti gonzagheschi, intended for the collections of the Ducal Palace in Mantova. The painting depicts the Battle of Fornovo, also referred to as the Battle of Taro, which took place on July 6, 1495.
Historically, the artwork remains within the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is currently housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
The work is held in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Its inventory number is not explicitly stated in the sources. It was part of a series of eight canvases commissioned by Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga for the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua and has been exhibited in contexts related to Tintoretto’s battle paintings, including thematic displays of Mannerist history painting.
The painting was created between 1578 and 1579 and is cataloged under the genre of battle painting within the Venetian school and Mannerist movement.
Context
Tintoretto’s The Battle of Taro (1578–79) belongs to the Gonzaga cycle, eight large canvases commissioned by Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga for Mantua’s ducal palace and now in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich. The work depicts the 1495 clash at Fornovo between French forces under Charles VIII and an Italian coalition led by Francesco II Gonzaga, aligning with Mannerist battle painting conventions in Venice.
Scholars highlight the painting’s dynamic composition and charged atmosphere as characteristic of Tintoretto’s mature style, situating it within the Venetian school’s late sixteenth-century turn toward dramatic narrative and perspectival complexity. As part of a prestigious Gonzaga commission, it underscores the artist’s engagement with elite historiography and dynastic commemoration, reinforcing his reputation for large-scale narrative works that fuse immediacy with allegorical weight.
Overview
Jacopo Tintoretto completed The Battle of Taro in 1590, employing oil on canvas. The composition depicts a tumultuous clash of armored combatants, both mounted and on foot, set amid swirling dust and smoke. Dark earth tones dominate, punctuated by vivid flags, while selective illumination draws attention to certain faces and weapons.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518 – 31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( TIN-tə-RET-oh; Italian:; Venetian: ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school.
