PROVENANCE: Pereire collection, Paris; Schaeffer Galleries, New York, from before 1946 to 1952; BJU, 1952.

Jacopo Robusti was born in Venice to a Tuscan clothes dyer ( tintor ) and thereby became known by his famous nickname, "Tintoretto" (little dyer). Of all the great Venetian painters, he was the only one actually born in Venice. The early biographer Carlo Ridolfi states that Tintoretto apprenticed in the bottega (workshop) of the leading Venetian painter, Titian, but this arrangement lasted only ten days. Further details are sketchy. He may have moved to one of the other leading studios in Venice, such as those of Andrea Schiavone, Paris Bordone or Bonifazio de' Pitati. Or he may have been largely self-taught since his oeuvre displays dependency on no single artist. Upon Titian's death, Tintoretto and Veronese became the dominant painters in Venice.

He combines Titian's use of color with the figural prowess of Michelangelo into a personal mannerist style, influencing generations of artists after him. The most famous work of Tintoretto's prolific and long career is the grandiose cycle of paintings for the Scuola di San Rocco, often referred to as the "Venetian Sistine Chapel." Taking more than 20 years to complete, the cycle is one of the most extensive decorative programs ever undertaken by a single artist.

Tintoretto specialized in large-scale narratives filled with eloquent figures posing dramatically. The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon illustrates one of Tintoretto's favorite biblical themes; at least seven different versions exist. Considered by Rodolfo Pallucchini to occupy a key position in the construction of the artist's early career, this painting is Tintoretto's earliest treatment of the theme. The composition could have derived from the Judgement of Solomon (Accademia, Venice), painted about 12 years earlier by Bonifazio when Tintoretto may have been in his studio. The traditional Venetian stage-like setting is a noticeable characteristic (probably learned from Sebastiano Serlio) repeated a few years later in Tintoretto's first important commission, St. Mark Freeing the Christian Slave, held by the Accademia, Venice . The pageant-like display of pomp and wealth painted with vigorous brushwork inspired such contemporaries as El Greco and later influenced European artists like Rubens, Claude Vignon, and Boeckhorst.