Jacopo Pontormo's Deposition of Christ — arthistoryblogger.blogspot.com

Jacopo Carucci Pontormo (5/24/1494-1/2/1557) was one of the most well-known Italian Mannerist painters.  He lived and worked in Florence and was a highly regarded and sought after painter.  Pontormo is known for his vivid pastel shades he used in his paintings and for his highly emotional scenes.Pontormo's best known work is the Deposition of Christ, which he created in 1525-28.  Pontormo's Deposition is in the Capponi Chapel in the church of Santa Felicita in Florence.  After centuries of accumulating dust this painting was recently restored and unveiled to the public.  The American non-profit group Friends of Florence funded the extensive restoration of this work.Detail of Pontormo's Deposition (1525‒28) at the Church of Santa Felicita, Florence, after the 2017 restoration with support from Friends of Florence. Photograph by Antonio Quattrone.The Capponi Chapel was the family chapel of the banker Lodovico Capponi and served as the family mausoleum.  Lodovico commissioned Pontormo to create paintings for the interior of the chapel.  The paintings are a combination of frescos on the walls and oil paintings hung in the niches.  The Deposition of Christ was painted in oils on a wooden panel (actually 6 panels glued together) and is the largest work in the chapel.   This work took over a year to restore, I have been fortunate enough to visit the Church of Santa Felicita and the Capponi Chapel several times and was there last summer during the time when it was being restored.  I look forward to seeing the newly restored work whenever I am in Florence next, the colors were already so vivid that I imagine now that the work has been fully cleaned it will be breathtaking. Church of Santa Felicita, Florence, after the 2017 restoration with support from Friends of Florence. Photograph by Antonio Quattrone.In the above photo the Deposition of Christ can be seen through the metal gate at the entrance to the Capponi Chapel.  The chapel was originally designed by Fillippo Bruneleschi in the 1420's for the Barbadori family and was later sold to the Capponi family.  Due to the construction of the Vasari Corridor there are no windows and the chapel is quite dark, it needs to be artificially illuminated for the work to be visible.  Visit and bring coins so you can turn the lights on through a special box.Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Vatican, 1508-12Pontormo had visited Rome and had seen the Sistine Chapel ceiling in person.  Michelangelo's colors were a big influence on Pontormo's work.  Michelangelo was the first to use a variety of vivid pastel shades and the Sistine ceiling was a large inspiration for the Mannerism movement.Pontormo's Deposition of Christ is a very large painting which is filled with eleven figures.  It is quite different than the typical composition for this subject matter.  In most Deposition of Christ paintings Jesus is shown being taken down from the cross after he dies and he is joined by his mother Mary among other Biblical figures.  In Pontormo's work there is no visible cross, yet Christ is certainly dead and is being lowered down.  Perhaps the cross is just out of the picture plane, or the figures exist in an unearthly realm.Pontormo, Deposition of Christ, 1525-28, Santa Felicita, Florenceimage prior to restoration, 313 cm × 192 cm (123 in × 76 in)The figures in Pontormo's work are swirling and floating in the composition, this is not atypical of Italian Mannerist painting which moves away from the perfect order, harmony and symmetry of the High Renaissance.  Instead the effect is ethereal and the figures are elegant.  The sorrow and anguish on all the faces contrast with the cheerful swirling bright colors.  The space they are in seems unearthly, perhaps alluding to the heavenly figures who are shown.The work in person is beautiful and very moving even though when it was painted it broke with the visual tradition of Depositions at that time.  Pontormo's art helped redefine painting in the 16th century and this new style became very popular for several decades. Though even among the Mannerist tradition his style was unique.Throughout his career Pontormo used his own face to model the majority of his faces on, so there are echos of his features in several figures in both this work and others.  He painted himself at the far right and looking out at the viewer, he can be seen behind the Virgin Mary wearing a brown-gold robe and green head wrap.The Church of Santa Felicita is tucked away on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, visitors do go there but nowhere near as many as those who visit the Accademia or Uffizi.  Now that this work has been restored and reinstalled and is open to the public once again hopefully it will draw more visitors than ever before who will be mesmerized by its unique composition.

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