the beauty of florence surpasses that of ancient athens: Pontormo, Deposizione, ca. 1527A grieving M
the beauty of florence surpasses that of ancient athens: Pontormo, Deposizione, ca. 1527A grieving Mother, Vergine Bella. Around Christ’s hand, at the epicentre of the drama, “dancers” perform the uncertain, abstract figures of a curious mystical ballet: the helplessness and restrained emotion of petrified protagonists. Contrasts, tensions, angular movements, a feeling of strangeness. Instability of undulating forms, levitation, precarious sinusoids, drawn faces, long-limbed phantoms, the virtuosic acrobats of an illusory Redemption. In the background lurks metaphysical anguish, religious crisis, the turmoil of civic life; and Savonarola, Luther, the Medici family. Drama of anxiety, rhetoric of silence. One of the angel bearers, almost giving way beneath the body’s weight, appeals to the viewer. On the right, the artist looks on, powerless, resigned, visionary.The doubts of a delicate, tortured soul, finding refuge in aesthetics. Rarissimo pittore fra quanti. Emblematic of Florentine culture of the Cinquecento, Pontormo expresses the refined Beauty of the Maniera and cultivates grace. Far from the harmony and balance of the Renaissance, the painter’s palette is strident: acidulous colours, predominance of light tones, pink and blue, plus several shades of green and orange; exceptional, vibrant luminosity; movement, music. The poetics of painting: History, too, is music.”— Denis Grenier, Il Nuovo Stile. -- source link
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