Research Project Entry 3: The Beginings of Change

Italy was undergoing a transformation of language- in its style and imitation. There was a sizely debate on the powers of having a universal language- to be understood in value and usage. This was a particularly passionate subject for painters. They took great interest in this as the debate paralleled with the visual language in art. Language allowed artists to engage with a broader educated society (Strehlke, 9).



 When the Medici made their first return in 1512 the debate took an even greater significance. Pontormo’s, Vertumnus and Pomona, commissioned by Leo X, in a way help prepare the viewer to understand his later portraits and the relationship of natural appearance to dissimulation and the “assumption of style that is artfully artless.” (Strehlke, 9).



 Visari writes that Pontormo “overworked his brain in inventing figures for his fresco, Vertumnus and Pomona, but that labor is invisible to the viewer.” (Strehlke, 9). The complex array of peasant characters are nude or heavily draped in heavy folds of cloth. The overall arrangement of characters is calculated arrangement of contrapposto and a interplay in exploration of the courtly themes- ease and judgment; a balance of Machiavellian ethics and courtly mannerism. Each character relies on one another for complete understanding. The gaze of the seated figures look after us, but it is more that a simple outward stare. This is simply a start to such a complex idea in which a sense of communication is established. This is the beginning of a complex network of subjective associations that link the observer to the drawing. In the context of language, it is also important to take note that Pontormo avoided stylistic flattery by avoiding a direct reference- historical or contemporary (Strehlke, 9, 10).

Pontormo, Vertumnus and Pomona, 1521

 

 

Detail of above Image

The Supper of Emmaus, 1525, was painted during Pontormo’s retreat to the Certosa. At this time the Plague had come to Florence and Pontormo was given the opportunity to escape the city to paint frescoes in the new Cloister. He took Bronzino with him (Strehlke, 10). In the Supper of Emmaus, he created a life size depiction of Christ with two apostles and several brothers that Vasari knew- who he describes with admiration, “they could not be more alive, or more alert.” (Strehlke, 10). The inclusion of portraits in religious narratives had a long tradition in Florence. Typically these inclusions are difficult to decipher. In Pontormo’s painting however, the “mystical truth of Christ takes place eternally in the human presence”. The idea that human and divine are incarnate in a historical present poses the deepest questions about the status of portraiture for Pontormo in the 1520’s. At this time Pontormo took great interest in the study of Durer’s prints- especially the Large Passion and Small Passion Series. The floppy hat, rough stools and simplified table setting are evidence that Pontomo took direct reference from him (most specifically the Small Passions series).- a Northern style that took less of Classical approach that was flourishing in Italy (Strehlke, 10, 11).

 

 

Pontormo, The Supper of Emmaus, 1525.

 

Detail of above Image

  

 Pontormo began to rely in Durer and his compositional sketches for bases of his paintings. It is difficult for historians to decipher which drawings he did from life and which he did from recreations of Durer’s prints.

 

 

Durer, Examples from the Small Passions Series, Woodcuts, 1511.