The Real Thing

Over a year ago, a generous artist-teacher agreed to come to The Yellow House and review my paintings.  At that time, I'd completed my 10-part "Flash Mob Series" -- variations on the theme of jumbled bodies in motion like this first one, "Lean In." (copyright 2016)

He was a teacher who resonated with me, and I would later take a couple of one-day Figure Drawing workshops from him.  In one of these, he happened to say at a coffee break, "Well, check out Pontormo.  He's someone I really like."  That was recommendation enough for me, and I quickly snagged the library's one book on Pontormo.

I fell in love with two things about this artist:-- His swirling interlocking figures (Flash Mob, anyone?) and his sensitive faces, even -- or especially -- among secondary figures in his crowds.

Sometimes I wrap up my studio session by using any leftover paint to do a quick sketch -- just postcard size.  It was only natural that this thrifty practice led to a few "Pontormo Postcards" modelled on those haunting faces.

By then, I'd used up all my library renewals and decided, when I returned the book, to report a tear on one of the pages (I didn't do it!! It was there before!!)   Off it went to the Library Elves' Repair Workshop, and I've never seen it again.  When my birthday rolled around, I checked out Amazon.com and found a real steal:

Okay, so I don't speak Italian but even I could figure out that this is "The Complete Works of Pontormo" -- and it's the pictures I crave, anyway.  I was taken with a lovely face-in-the-crowd in the lower right of one of his frescoes:

This summer, I turned it into a quick study on a piece of cardboard:

And then things started to get really interesting.   Making a list of "must-sees" for my anticipated trip to New York, I was gleaning through museum collections -- and found to my astonishment and delight that The Morgan Library & Museum was hosting a special Pontormo exhibit (still showing!).

What an exciting walking-on-air day when I approached the exhibit room!

And there, waaaay beyond the glory of any reproductions I'd seen was the real thing  -- "The Visitation," one of Pontormo's most glorious works.  The colours truly can't be reproduced, and the fabric swirls seemed almost alive.

The small exhibit featured just one more from among his most famous paintings, "Portrait of a Young Man in a Red Cap" along with half a dozen drawings that could not be photographed.

Back home in the studio, I picked up my Pontormo enthusiasm and decided to use the fresco face for a second painting of "Children's Entertainer."

The first version  was done in midsummer as an assignment in my on-line course.   Despite this second try, it's still easy to ask (and answer), "What's wrong with this picture?"  -- but it was fun and instructive to give it a try.

During my personal year of Pontormo, I came across someone else who was inspired by "The Visitation" -- the video artist Bill Viola.  His brief video "The Greeting" is both odd and fun.

One of the oddities of this piece is that it omits the fourth Pontormo figure -- the one I find particularly astonishing.  Watch this spot.  You'll be seeing more of her.