500 years ago in Venice, a star was born. Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto began painting at a time when radical social change marked the beginning of the European Reformation. With fast brushstrokes and daring compositions, his paintings captured the complexities and challenges of this new modern age. This documentary tells the story of the most radical and courageous painter of the age. Tintoretto's most important paintings give the film its narrative structure. Cinematic reenactment in front of the golden landscape of Venice brings 16th century Italy to life.