Virgin and Child with Saint Elizabeth, the Infant Baptist, Saint Anthony of Padua, and a Female Martyr

Jacopo da Pontormo (Jacopo Carucci)

1514–22 · Red chalk, brush and red wash · Drawings and Prints

Together with Rosso Fiorentino, Pontormo was a leading and revolutionary artist of Mannerism in Florence. This expressive, highly worked up drawing can be dated in the period between Pontormo's ‘Madonna of San Ruffilo’ fresco at the Santissima Annunziata (1514), and the ‘Adoration of the Magi’ panel in the Palazzo Pitti (1520-22), thus early in the master's career. Pontormo's drawings, mainly figure studies in red chalk or black chalk, are among the highest expressions in the tradition of Florentine design. His early drawing style, particularly his preference for red chalk, shows the influence of his master, Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530). The early fortune of this extraordinary drawing is recorded by a copy now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. 1991) made by the Late Renaissance painter and draftsman from Siena Francesco Vanni (1563-1610).

Artist

Jacopo da Pontormo (Jacopo Carucci)

Date

1514–22

Medium

Red chalk, brush and red wash

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1917