My Reaction To Jacopo Da Pontormo

My Reaction to Jacopo Da Pontormo

By Joseph Parish

As many people may be aware, I am very appreciative of art in its many forms. Therefore, for this rant I have chosen a Florentine painter named Jacopo da Pontormo. His specific style of painting is known as Mannerism. As with many great artists Pontormo also was the son of a painter. His training was nothing short of magnificent as he was apprenticed at a young age to non-other than Leonardo da Vinci himself. He was essentially a religious painter, but on occasion he would create a few portraits.

As I conducted the research necessary for this project, I encountered several worthy works of his which I would personally place within my home, but alas I had to limit my selections to a mere single painting. That honor, I eventually bestowed upon Pontormo's Entombment.

The painting illustrates a brilliantly colored image of Christ being carried off by his loyal followers. As we look attentively at the expressions displayed by the players in the painting, we can perceive the anguish being experienced by the various mourners. Viewing the scene judiciously we notice that the two young fellows in the depiction appear to bear the full weight of Christ without experiencing any sort of difficulty. In fact, the one figure which is hunched down even appears to be balancing himself on his toes. Could these two men possibly be Angels as suggested by some historians? If you gaze closely at the bearded gentleman to the far right in the earth colored clothing, we can perhaps see Pontormo himself, as he is alleged to have placed a self-portrait within the painting. It is the only image which is created with dull colors.

As we endeavor to enlist this wonderful work of art, we are first enticed to it because of its luminous colors and the means by which Pontormo displays shadows. The shading on the clothing appears as if we are viewing the artwork within a theatrical lighted environment. It is a unique style, noticeable within several of his paintings. The lengthened, horizontal forms of the major figures coupled with the balanced poses which they assume, offer us an embellished perspective of the key players. We find both sharp colors as observed in the clothing contrasted immediately by the smoother dull shades. It almost imparts the impression of a matte like finish. As we view the shapes which compose the images, we encounter solid, irregular shapes, but we also can portray some negative aspects within the oil as well. The heads of the figures appear to be smaller and disproportionate from the size of the bodies. This gives us an almost caricature type of art image.

Back to the colors for a moment, we have both high-key and low-key colors combined with this painting. When we first view the colors, we can almost feel the hot and cold shades reflecting upon our body. The spacing and location of the major images in the painting produces a positive response when looking directly at the work.

I believe that based upon what we have gathered together for this painting, Pontormo had intended to implant the feelings of those who were carrying Christ's body off for burial preparations. The mood which he has attempted to communicate to us is one of solemn sorrow as displayed on the expressions of the figures within the painting. I feel he has successfully achieved his intended goals in this oil painting. Although I am not especially religious, I find the painting appeals to me on the merits of the colors and the style which the artist has chosen to complete it.

For more interesting articles visit me at http://www.wordwriter.info