Painter

Pontormo

Pontormo was a Florentine Mannerist painter known for charged religious subjects, unconventional spaces, and intense, sometimes startling color.

Pontormo quick facts

Jacopo Pontormo’s expressive figures and unstable compositions helped define early Florentine Mannerism across panel paintings and fresco cycles.

Pontormo quick facts
Full name	Jacopo Carucci
Born	1494 · Pontorme near Empoli, Republic of Florence (now Italy)
Died	1556–1557 · Florence, Duchy of Florence (now Italy)
Nationality	Italian (Florentine)
Movements	Mannerism
Paint types	Oil Paint
Other media	—
Other materials	—
Painting surfaces	Wood · Canvas · Plaster
Painting methods	Juxtaposed vivid oil colors on prepared panels and canvas and painted frescoes on wet lime plaster
Common subjects	Religious narratives, the story of Joseph, devotional images, the Entombment of Christ, portraits, and Biblical figures
Notable works	Supper at Emmaus · Joseph with Jacob in Egypt · Pharaoh with his Butler and Baker · The Deposition (Santa Felicità)

Examples below show oil paint in Pontormo's documented works, connecting named paintings to the medium and its handling of color and form in context.

Oil paint

The National Gallery catalogs Pontormo’s Joseph with Jacob in Egypt as oil on wood, while the Uffizi records Supper at Emmaus as oil on canvas. Elongated figures and unexpected color contrasts appear across both panel and canvas paintings, showing the medium on more than one support.

Documented works by Pontormo use Wood and Canvas, with examples clarifying when a material is painted ground, backing, or part of a constructed work.

Wood

Pontormo’s paintings, including the National Gallery’s Joseph with Jacob in Egypt, are documented on wood panels. The rigid support carries elongated figures and compressed architectural spaces in a large narrative composition, distinct from his canvas paintings such as Supper at Emmaus.
Canvas

Pontormo also painted on canvas, including the Uffizi’s Supper at Emmaus. The flexible support carries the same elongated figures and striking color relationships seen in his panel works, documenting a second format for his oil paintings. The collection entry identifies canvas as the work’s immediate support.
Plaster

Pontormo painted frescoes directly on plaster walls, including architectural decorations in Florentine churches and chapels. The wall itself serves as the support for the image, distinguishing fresco from his portable oil paintings on wood and canvas. The project record confirms the architectural surface as the mural ground.