Visitation by Pontormo (Interpretation and Analysis)
While everyone praises the grace and beauty of Renaissance art and the drama of the Baroque, it is the weirdness of Mannerist art that truly captures the imagination when you look back at the history of Western art.
Mannerism was a style that emerged in the 16th century as a reaction against the Renaissance obsession with proportionality and naturalism. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes it as “characterized by artificiality and artiness, by a thoroughly self-conscious cultivation of elegance and technical facility, and by a sophisticated indulgence in the bizarre,” noting that Mannerists believed that Renaissance artists fixated on style to the detriment of the subject matter. Italian artist Pontormo was one of the great masters of the Mannerist style.
One of Pontormo’s finest paintings is his Visitation, a motif that many artists returned to again and again throughout Western history. In Christian tradition, the Visitation refers to a visit that the Virgin Mary made to Saint Elizabeth, who was her cousin, while Elizabeth was pregnant with Saint John the Baptist. The purpose of this visit is usually understood to be Christ bringing divine grace to Saint Elizabeth and Saint John. While this is a classic theme in Christian art, Pontormo’s treatment of the subject is very strange.
The painting depicts four women, dressed in the unusually bright colors that often characterize Mannerist art. The two women in the foreground are crowned with halos, marking them as the Virgin Mary and Saint Elizabeth. While these two women are engaged in a friendly embrace, the two onlookers who stand behind them gaze at the viewer with blank expressions that could be interpreted as fear.
In the background, stark, grey buildings can be seen, which gives a sense of the scale of the women themselves. Compared to the buildings, they are monumentally tall. Two men stand by the doorway of one of the buildings; both are about the size of the women’s feet, making them almost unimaginably small. This distortion of scale is normal for Mannerist art, but it’s still strange to look at. The difference in size highlights the comparative importance of the women, elevating them to massive heights of consequence.
The composition of the piece is also a little unusual. It probably draws inspiration from Albrecht Dürer’s famous print Four Witches, adding an extra degree of weirdness to the piece. Regardless of its strangeness, there is something captivating about the Visitation; it captures the imagination.
Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.
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| Visitation Source: Wikimedia Commons |
One of Pontormo’s finest paintings is his Visitation, a motif that many artists returned to again and again throughout Western history. In Christian tradition, the Visitation refers to a visit that the Virgin Mary made to Saint Elizabeth, who was her cousin, while Elizabeth was pregnant with Saint John the Baptist. The purpose of this visit is usually understood to be Christ bringing divine grace to Saint Elizabeth and Saint John. While this is a classic theme in Christian art, Pontormo’s treatment of the subject is very strange.
The painting depicts four women, dressed in the unusually bright colors that often characterize Mannerist art. The two women in the foreground are crowned with halos, marking them as the Virgin Mary and Saint Elizabeth. While these two women are engaged in a friendly embrace, the two onlookers who stand behind them gaze at the viewer with blank expressions that could be interpreted as fear.
In the background, stark, grey buildings can be seen, which gives a sense of the scale of the women themselves. Compared to the buildings, they are monumentally tall. Two men stand by the doorway of one of the buildings; both are about the size of the women’s feet, making them almost unimaginably small. This distortion of scale is normal for Mannerist art, but it’s still strange to look at. The difference in size highlights the comparative importance of the women, elevating them to massive heights of consequence.
The composition of the piece is also a little unusual. It probably draws inspiration from Albrecht Dürer’s famous print Four Witches, adding an extra degree of weirdness to the piece. Regardless of its strangeness, there is something captivating about the Visitation; it captures the imagination.
Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.
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