1494 -1556/1557 · Florence and expressive mannerism

Acidic colors, unstable spaces and suspended figures make Jacopo Pontormo one of the most daring inventors of Florentine mannerism, between sacred story and interior portrait.

Jacopo Carucci was born in 1494 in Pontorme, near Empoli, a village from which he takes his nickname. An orphan at a very young age, he reached Florence and went through several workshops before entering Andrea del Sarto around 1512. He assimilated the flexible construction of the figures and a refined color, but his temperament quickly led him towards a more restless language. The frescoes of the Santissima Annunziata and the panels devoted to the story of Joseph for the Borgherini room revealed an inventive narrative from the 1510s. The frescoes of the Santissima Annunziata and the panels devoted to the story of Joseph for the Borgherini room revealed an inventive narrative from the 1510s: The frescoes of the Santissima Annunziata and the panels devoted to the story of Joseph for the Borgherini room revealed an inventive narrative from the 1510s: the frescoes of the Santissima Annunziata and the panels devoted to the story of Joseph for the Borgherini room revealed an inventive narrative from the 1510s: several episodes coexist, the stairs intersect and the brilliant colors detach each character. Pontormo looks at Michelangelo, including the ceiling of the chapel Sistine has just been revealed, but also the prints of Dürer and Lucas de Leiden. From these influences was born an art that no longer seeks classical balance. At the Galluzzo chartreuse, between 1522 and 1525, his scenes from the Passion transform Nordic models into stripped-down and tense visions. The Supper at Emmaus places Christ in the middle of a silent refectory, under the frontal eye of individualized monks. The Deposition from the Capponi Chapel in Santa Felicita, painted around 1526 -1528, brings mannerism to its summit: the ground seems to disappear, bodies fit together without weight and bright pinks, blues and greens replace natural chiaroscuro. Pontormo is also one penetrating portrait painter. Alexandre de Medici or young men of the court appear in sober poses, surrounded by rare objects but subject to a direct psychological gaze. His student and close collaborator Bronzino extends several of his inventions. During his last years, Pontormo worked on a vast cycle for the choir of San Lorenzo. Destroyed in the 18th century, this ensemble is known for drawings of exceptional energy and for the diary kept by the artist. Died in Florence in 1556 or 1557, Pontormo left a work less abundant than that of his rivals, but decisive for the history of color, drawing and modern emotion. The "Jacopo Pontormo" selection notably compares The Deposition and Joseph in Egypt. Its reading favors light.

Pontormo takes away the world's stability to make emotion visible: bodies float, colors light up and each look becomes an event.