Pontormo's unconventional Deposition From the Cross
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Pontormo's unconventional Deposition From the Cross

Pontormo's unconventional Deposition From the Cross

Posted on 14 March, 2020

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Tempera on wood

In The Deposition From the Cross, Jacopo Pontormo gives an unconventional take on the deposition of Christ. In bright colors, it shows no crucifix, and angels don’t have their wings.

Pontormo’s palette of iridescent hues is the signature of the era. In fact, in the early decades of the 1500s, the paintings were not only multicolored. They went even further to challenge the viewer’s eye with contrasting colors, often in acid tones.

A frenzied rhythm

The biblical painting contains a frenzied rhythm, emphasized further by the poses and tense faces of its characters.

The Virgin’s hand extended towards the son is expressive and belies her condition, at the brink of fainting. The other figures meld together, not only for their twisted postures but also for the lack of distinguishing attributes. Finally, the public can see Pontormo’s Deposition From the Cross in the same place he originally installed it. It is a rare case.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain


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