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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Cheaters Never Prosper?





We say it to kids all the time, but it isn’t true: cheaters very often do prosper. Case point, Venice in 1564. Back then, rich dudes would donate money to build social clubs dedicated to popular saints, which in Venice meant a saint whose body had been stolen and brought to Venice. (Check out my post Conspiracy, Theft and Sin for the outrageous manner in which St. Mark’s body was smuggled into Venice.) These clubs were places where rich folks could pretend to be pious while patting themselves on the back for arranging to have been born into rich families. 
      
The Scuolo Grande di San Rocco (The Confraternity of Saint Roch) was one of these clubs. In 1564 artwork was needed to cover the interior of a massive newly completed clubhouse gaudy enough to please Donald Trump. Venice overflowed with great artists, so the board of directors did what many organizations do when they want free ideas before settling on what they really want—they held a contest.
      
Painters in good standing with Venice’s Art Guild were invited to submit a single sketch for a painting to fill the massive oval opening in the ceiling just inside the Scuolo’s new entrance. The theme of the sketch: the Glorification of St. Roch. (Yes, the body of St. Roch was brought to Venice under suspicious circumstances.) A young painter named Jacopo Robusti (better known by his nickname Tintoretto) wanted this commission badly. To win it, he did something no other competitor had the nerve to do. He cheated.
     
A day had been set aside for artists to come to the Scuolo to present their sketches and have them judged. The artist with the winning sketch would be awarded the job of creating the final ceiling painting. Competition for this project was heavy and many great sketches were presented. Tintoretto was last to show his work. But he didn’t present a sketch. He pulled a cord rigged to the side of the entryway and a tarp slid to the ground, revealing his Glorification of St. Roch, a completed oil painting. Tintoretto and a few of his drunken buddies had snuck into the Scuolo the night before and installed the finished painting in the ceiling.
      
The other artists cried foul since only a sketch had been asked for.

    
 Tintoretto claimed this was the way he sketched—fast and furious with a paint brush—although he finally admitted to cheating. But he’d done his homework well, studying the Scuolo’s bylaws and discovering that no gift to the Scuolo could be rejected. History didn’t record his exact words, but Tintoretto must have said something like this to his angry fellow artists and the board of directors: “You are all correct; I have cheated and don’t deserve to win this contest. As my punishment, I give the Scuolo my painting. Pay me nothing.”
      
The board of directors must have rubbed their chins and thought this quite a deal. Instead of awarding an expensive commission they were receiving a magnificent painting for free. And didn’t it look great already installed in the ceiling? To the irritation of the other contestants, the board of directors happily accepted Tintoretto’s painting. To this day it can be viewed where Tintoretto and his drunken buddies hung it in 1564.
      
Tintoretto may have not played by the rules, but for the next twenty years he painted scores of masterpieces to cover the walls and ceilings of this massive building. The Scuolo never considered hiring another artist because it was felt that all paintings needed to match the Tintoretto in the entryway. And who could match Tintoretto’s style better than Tintoretto himself. The artist had played his cards well.
      One of the Scuolo's many rooms decorated by Tintoretto.
If you believe cheaters should never prosper and your sense of fairness outweighs your interest in great art, the next time you’re in Venice I suggest avoiding The Scuolo Grande di San Rocco. In addition to being a repository of some of the finest examples of Renaissance painting in Italy, it’s also a monument to cheating.


28 comments:

  1. I think their idealogical heirs might be walking the halls of US Congress today.

    At any rate, his talent is remarkable and he probably would have had good success without cheating.

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  2. Sneaky. But you have to admint it really IS beautiful.

    Along the lines of Shelly's comment, I was thinking about Wall Street bankers. Talk about a sleazy bunch of cheats!

    S

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  3. Maybe they should recommission it as the Hall of Cheating. They can install portraits of Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, Rosie Ruiz, and other notorious cheaters.

    Anyway, if cheaters didn't prosper there wouldn't be so many rich people on Wall Street or in Congress.

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    1. Hmmmm, I think I cheated and stole from the other two comments.

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  4. wow. I do not really like this story..but I see it in sports and politics here all the time! guess the cheaters can prosper here on earth, but that is not their final destination.

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  5. Very interesting; I didn't know this fact, but brilliant way to get your art shown if you don't want to play by the rules. And I do have to admit, he certainly was talented!!

    may the day be a kind one!

    betty

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  6. What an interesting tale and if I ever go to Venice again I will be sure to look! Knowing the way things seemed to be in those days, I'd have said that Tintoretto did pretty well to get his way without someone stabbing him, or indeed without stabbing anyone!

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  7. Cheating is so in vogue today too. Nothing has changed. I didn't know this, but I'm not an art buff either.

    Have a terrific day. :)

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  8. Indeed. I think Lance Armstrong can approve of this post. I know you and I both appreciate art. I would like your fine opinion on this magnificent restoration:

    http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/botched-ecce-homo-painting

    I think it captures perfectly the vision of "Christ."

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  9. more recently there was the 2000 election where cheating .. oops sorry .. where help from the Supreme Court changed the course of history ...

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  10. And of course it must be pointed out the Board of Directors allowed the painting not only to remain, but continued to allow him to contribute to the magnificence of the place. Is that called being "lead into temptation"?

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  11. I was fascinated by the story, but that fascination was completely trumped by that final photo of the post. That room is stunning! My gosh, I have to see this place in person someday.

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  12. A cheater, or a marketing genius who invented the loss leader? I'd agree with your analysis, except I don't know if I can trust your judgment anymore after your last post which I felt was extremely erroneous. I do not have a uterus, but I can find whatever I want in the refrigerator -- soda, beer, ice cream, leftover cake . . . like I said, whatever I want!

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  13. I thought of governments right away, too. Not just ours. Seems to be where most of them prosper. ;)
    You always have the most interesting posts!! :)

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  14. So, I guess that pretty much left out the dude who sketched "Pete the Pirate" off the back of a matchbook...?

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  15. Unfortunately enough cheaters prosper so that it makes it worth the risk. Look at our politicians? The biggest cheaters around!

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  16. There is nothing new under the sun.

    Love,
    Janie

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  17. Wow. I read that whole thing without once thinking of government or politics. Apparently, I'm abnormal.

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  18. I am surprised he lived to paint again after this stunt, he definitely played his cards right but it could have gone the other direction for him had the other artists decided to retaliate.

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  19. How very fascinating and also sadly true regarding those who cheat.

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  20. I employed this same tactic when I wanted to become a nuclear physicist. They wouldn't employ me (lack of qualifications or something) so I constructed my own nuclear device out of discarded tins of baked beans and a AAA battery, and held the world to ransom. Unfortunately, they didn't believe that my device would blow, but they'll be sorry. They'll all be sorry! Mwahahahahahaha!

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  21. I don't know if I should be depressed or inspired.

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  22. I must absolutely find a way to get you to come on a vacation with me to Italy. I have missed so much my last two times! And cheating is a relative thing, I write as other gasp. Sometimes it works out for the best of all.

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  23. That's hilarious. Ol' Tintoretto had quite a set on him.

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  24. Is there anything is this world where no cheating occurs?

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  25. i'm not sure if this is cheating so much as innovation and lateral thinking

    Great story though - you make me want to study the history of art more than ever

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  26. Interesting, and how little things have changed over the course of history!

    I don't know why we always think great artists also have great moral character. I watched a movie about Frank Lloyd Wright once and was surprised to find out that in his personal life, he was just not a very nice person.

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  27. In fairness you should also mention that he painted two gigantic pieces, 40 feet by 15 or so at his parish church for the cost of the paint. When he painted his Paradise in the Doge's palace he took no payment until it was finished and when asked the price he said, "Pay me what it's worth." When they paid him, 500 ducats I think, he said it was too much and returned some of the money.

    I suspect it was not drunks who helped him cheat at San Rocco. His father in law was something at the Scuola, I think secretary, and that was likely the source of his assistance. His problem was his vigor and speed. He painted faster than most people could draw. He was a machine and worked and worked and worked. His work can be measured not by the number of pieces but in acreage. He needed stuff to do so perhaps he should be forgiven the faults of genius and industry.

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