Jacopo da Pontormo
1494 - 1557
One of the Greatest Painters Of All Time
Italian Early Mannerist Painter
Influences: Leonardo da Vinci , Titian and Albrecht Dürer
Education - Studied under Leonardo da Vinci
Cause of Death - In his declining years he descended into madness and spent most of his time shut up in his studio chatting with angels that he claimed lived in a tree outside his window. Old friends tried to intervene and often left him baskets of food and coins on the doorstep. But he shunned his fellow artists and old friends believing they were in league with the devil. His final years were spent roaming the streets, wild and disheveled, a shell of his former self. He died a paupers death.
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Description of the Mannerist Style
Originating in Italy, the term mannerism comes from the Italian 'maniera', which translates to 'style'. Mannerism is an artistic style that was born in the early 1500s. The style originated in Rome and later widened to all of Europe. Mannerists paintings are characterized by elongated limbs, thin aquiline noses, overly stylized figures, undersized heads, electrifying, vibrant colors and elaborately mannered, theatrical compositions. The Mannerists in Italy worked on generous commission for a restricted audience of Vatican powerbrokers and royalty. The subjects they were allowed to portray was controlled and restricted to biblical themes, portraits and occasionally mythology. El Greco said to hell with the money went off to Spain to pursue his own spectral vision.
Masters of The Mannerist Style
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