Pontormo, Jacopo da [key], 1494–1556, Florentine painter, one of the creators of mannerism. His real name was Jacopo Carrucci. He studied with Andrea del Sarto, Leonardo da Vinci, Mariotto Albertinelli, and Piero di Cosimo. While studying with Sarto, Pontormo met Il Rosso, who became his main rival. Among his earliest religious works were the altarpieces for the churches of Santa Maria Novella and Santa Annunziata, Florence. His altar for the church of San Michele Visdomini, Florence, is considered by many to be the first mannerist work in recorded history. Pontormo was also a talented portraitist; he made full use of his abilities in his Passion Cycle (1522–25) for the Florentine Certosa family, in which he gave animation and presence to several mythological scenes. His Lady with a Lap Dog is one of the first mannerist portraits. It is said that Pontormo was influenced by Michelangelo and Dürer as his work matured. For much of his life, Pontormo was a recluse. He painted several frescoes from 1546 to 1556, but these have since been lost. He is remembered mainly for his drawings from this period. Examples of his art are in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Fogg Museum, Cambridge; and the Yale Univ. Art Gallery. Pontormo also kept a diary in which he chronicled his neurotic obsessions.
See J. Cox-Rearick, The Drawings of Pontormo (2 vol., 1981).
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