than this Queen of the Sea.

It was just when the glory of Venice was at its highest that Art too
reached its height, and Giorgione and Titian began to paint the walls
of her palaces and the altarpieces of her churches.

In the very centre of the city where the poorer Venetians had their
houses, there lived about this time a man called Battista Robusti who
was a dyer, or 'tintore,' as he is called in Italy. It was his little
son Jacopo who afterwards became such a famous artist. His
grand-sounding name 'Tintoretto' means nothing but 'the little dyer,'
and it was given to him because of his father's trade.

Tintoretto must have been brought up in the midst of gorgeous colours.
Not only did he see the wonderful changing tints of the outside world,
but in his father's workshop he must often have watched the rich
Venetian stuffs lifted from the dye vats, heavy with the crimson and
purple shades for which Venice was famous. Perhaps all this glowing
colour wearied his young eyes, for when he grew to be a man his
pictures show that he loved solemn and dark tones, though he could also
paint the most brilliant colours when he chose.

Of course, the boy Tintoretto began by painting the walls of his
father's house, as soon as he was old enough to learn the use of dyes
and paints. Even if he had not had in him the artist soul, he could
scarcely have resisted the temptation to spread those lovely colours on
the smooth white walls. Any child would have done the same, but
Tintoretto's mischievous fingers already showed signs of talent, and
his father, instead of scolding him for wasting colours and spoiling
the walls, encouraged him to go on with his pictures.

As the boy grew older, his great delight was to wander about the city
and watch the men at work building new palaces. But especially did he
linger near those walls which Titian and Giorgione were covering with
their wonderful frescoes. High on the scaffolding he would see the
painters at work, and as he watched the boy would build castles in the
air, and dream dreams of a time when he too would be a master-painter,
and be bidden by Venice to decorate her walls.

To Tintoretto's mind Titian was the greatest man in all the world, and
to be taught by him the greatest honour that heart could wish. So it
was perhaps the happiest day in all his life when his father decided to
take him to Titian's studio and ask the master to receive him as a
pupil.

But the happiness lasted