Pontormo: A Modern Vision

Jacopo da Pontormo - Saint Matthew, 1527-28, oil on wood, Capponi Chapel, San Felicita, Florence (click photo for larger image)Brilliant Florentine painter, Jacopo da Pontormo (1494-1557) was initially influenced by the styles of Piero di Cosimo, Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Sarto. These artistic giants shaped Pontormo's early works. However, he possessed a vision that, in hindsight, can be seen to foreshadow what would become tendencies in Modern Art. He is one of the painters of the first generation of Mannerists. Pontormo’s style was marked by elongated forms, heightened emotion, and tension between figures and space. The stylish look of Mannerism was followed by the Counter-Reformation Baroque era, which represents a grand extension of Renaissance ideals. It is the characteristics of Mannerism, however, that would become embedded in the modern artistic ethic.