Although Im not Pontormos number one fan, there are many aspects of his work that are worth mentioning, especially within this context. His style was seen as a radical stylistic break from those around him, one that would seem to have carried all the way over into modern day painting. Many of his works have leaps in scale and ambiguous moon-like settings that can almost be seen as being contemporary with Salvatore Dali and other surrealists.



In this painting, usually referred to as the Pucci Altarpiece, distinct aspects of Pontormos work are clearly illustrated. The evenly colored space and symmetry of light and dark causes a certain abstraction that contributes to the weightlessness of the figures, who seem to float around the space. Though compositionally the main figures form a sturdy triangle, the ambiguous setting seems to lift them off the ground and situate them within a levitational plane that has no relation to the physical world. Similarly, and of particular note to this blog, the putti who dance around the frame are in similar poses, of the same scale and form a triangle that is flipped from that aforementioned, which all contribute to their animation. As our eye dances through the frame so do these naked children.

Although Pontormo could not have known the advances that would befall upon the 21st century, his 16th century mindset already led him in the pursuit of a more immersive experience that would engage its viewers through motion.