Jacopo Pontormo

25.05.1494 Pontormo (Empoli) - 02.01.1557 Firenze

Art history: Mannerism

Short information:

Italian painter, born in Pontormo, who worked chiefly in Florence. He was initially influenced by the styles of Piero di Cosimo and Leonardo da Vinci and of Andrea del Sarto, whom he assisted. These influences shaped Pontormo's early works. From 1518 on, Pontormo did much work for the Medici, including frescoes for their villa at Poggio a Caiano from about 1519 to about 1521 and, later, for their family church, San Lorenzo. Pontormo's style was marked by elongated forms, heightened emotion, and tension between figures and space. Among his Mannerist works are Joseph in Egypt (1518, National Gallery, London), Holy Family with Saints (1518?, San Michele Visdomini, Florence), and the Deposition (1526, Santa Felicit?, Florence). He also did portraits, such as Alessandro de Medici (1525 Pinacoteca Nazionale, Lucca).