Jacopo Carucci, known as Pontormo (1494–1557), was the leading painter in mid sixteenth-century Florence and one of the most original and extraordinary Mannerist artists. His extremely personal style was much influenced by Michelangelo, though he also drew from northern art, especially the work of Albrecht Dürer. This catalogue brings together a small but important group of preparatory drawings and finished paintings that center on Pontormo’s great masterpiece, The Visitation, one of the most moving and mesmerizing works by the artist. The Visitation represents the intense moment of encounter between the Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, who reveal to each other that both are pregnant. The painting is presented—for the first time—along with its highly finished preparatory drawing, which is squared for transfer to the larger surface of the panel. The combination of rigorous research and gorgeous reproductions reveals the painter’s creative process as never before. Other acclaimed paintings, including Portrait of a Halberdier and Portrait of Carlo Neroni, will also be shown alongside their preparatory drawings. Readers will encounter Pontormo both as a religious painter and a painter of portraits, in this original and nuanced account of the celebrated artist.

Jacopo Carrucci (1494-1557), named Pontormo after his birthplace, was the main representative of Florentine Mannerism, the seventy-five-year period that links the High Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Following the success of Abrams' Pontormo Drawings, Pontormo Paintings and Frescoes presents in large format an overview of the artist's important works, most of which have been newly photographed for this volume. Influenced by Raphael's late works, Durer's graphics, and Michelangelo's monumental figural style, Pontormo's quest for new forms of expression resulted in some of his most spectacular and brilliantly executed paintings. His highly individual paintings are visions rather than representations of reality; his compositions often include exaggerated forms and unnatural colors. Salvatore S. Nigro, Professor of Italian Literature at the University of Catania, Sicily, has selected over seventy examples of Pontormo's paintings and frescoes. The book includes such masterpieces as the portrait of Cosimo I de Medici, the fresco cycle in the Santissima Annunziata, and the Deposition in Santa Felicita. Each work is presented in a full-page color reproduction, some with details, and is accompanied by a brief commentary. The introduction by Professor Nigro places Pontormo's work within the context of developments in art and literature, and is followed by biographical and bibliographical notes. This volume is particularly important to scholars and connoisseurs of sixteenth-century Italian art; together, the illustrations and text offer a fresh look at this Florentine master and will serve as a record for many years to come.

In 1956, Palazzo Strozzi hosted the exhibition 'Pontormo and Early Florentine Mannerism', in which Pontormo's work was displayed alongside that of Rosso Fiorentino, Beccafumi and other adepts of the new and unconventional trend in painting. Almost sixty years later, Palazzo Strozzi has decided to hold an exhibition devoted to only two of that movement's leading lights, Pontormo and Rosso Fiordentino. In exploring the work of the two greatest Florentine exponents of what 20th-century critics christened 'Mannerism', the exhibition, and this accompanying volume, aims to track the chronological development of the movement.

Pontormo's Halberdier has long been controversial. How did scholars come to identify the sitter as Duke Cosimo de' Medici and why is this open to doubt? Who was Francesco Guardi? What was the siege of Florence, and could Pontormo have made this compelling portrait during that time of deprivation and political tumult? In a fascinating piece of historical detective work, Elizabeth Cropper investigates these questions and uncovers new evidence for interpretation. She also analyzes the portrait's relationship to other works by Pontormo, explores the importance for Pontormo of Donatello, Michelangelo, and Andrea del Sarto, and looks into Bronzino's connection with the portrait.