Who was Pontormo? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Italian Celebrities Born In May

Also Known As: Jacopo Carucci, Jacopo da Pontormo, Jacopo Pontormo

Died At Age: 62

Family:

father: Bartolomeo di Jacopo di Martino Carrucci

mother: Alessandra di Pasquale di Zanobi

Born Country: Italy

Artists Renaissance Painters

Died on: January 2, 1557

place of death: Florence, Italy

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Childhood & Early Life

Jacopo Carucci, who later came to be known as Jacopo Pontormo or just Pontormo was born on May 24, 1494 in a place called Pontorme near Empoli in Italy. His father, Bartolomeo di Jacopo di Martino Carucci, was a painter by profession and his mother’s name was Alessandra di Pasquale di Zanobi.

Pontormo was orphaned at an early age as per the accounts of his biographer Giorgio Vasari. Although not a lot is known whether Pontormo received any formal education or not; his biographer has stated that he apprenticed as a painter under the guidance of the great Leonardo da Vinci, Mariotto Albertinelli and Piero di Cosimo.

In 1512, at the age of 18, Pontormo started as an apprentice under the guidance of the painter Andrew del Sarto and according to most art experts, Sarto seems to have had the most telling influence on his works as a painter. The 1518 altarpiece Pontormo did at the San Michele Visdomini in Florence is often cited as an example of this influence. Pontormo had also travelled to Rome in order to have a look at Michelangelo’s work.

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Career

Pontormo primarily worked in and around the city of Florence, where the painters and artists had the patronage of the House of Medici. One of his earliest works was the ‘Visitation of the Virgin and St. Elisabeth’ which took two years to complete and was completed in 1516. The figures painted in the fresco became his discernible style.

By the time the year 1519 came along, Pontormo’s name had spread far and wide as a painter of rare gifts who had perfected the art of depicting the agitated emotions in the paintings. In the same year, he started working on the fresco at the country Villa of the Medici located at Caiano. It ended three years later and was appreciated by the powers that be.

Pontormo had to leave Florence in the year 1522 when the plague spread across the city and the painter made his way to Certose di Galluzzo. He painted frescos at the Carthusian monastery.

In 1528, Pontormo created his greatest ever work when he painted the altarpiece at the Capponi Chapel in Florence and the canvas titled ‘The Deposition from the Cross’ remains one of his most famous pieces of work that survives to the present day.

Although lots of paintings done by Pontormo have been damaged, plenty survive and are housed at different museums and galleries in Italy and parts of Europe. Pontormo is known to have shrunk away from public life in the last 10 years of his life but his last great work was the frescoes of San Lorenzo, Florence. The work remained unfinished and partly damaged, however it showed the profound influence Michelangelo had on his mind.

Major Works

Pontormo is rightly regarded as one of the significant painters of the Florentine Renaissance and although many of his works have been damaged or lost; a significant number of them survive. The most important work of his career was certainly ‘The Deposition from the Cross’ at the Capponi Chapel in Florence.

Personal Life & Legacy

The details of his personal life and whether he had a wife or ever had a relationship are unknown.

Pontormo died at the age of 62 on January 2, 1557 in Florence.

Pontormo Biography