Italian Renaissance artist Jacopo Pontormo’s Capponi Chapel altarpiece in Florence shows the moments after Jesus Christ is taken down from the cross. In his 1520s scene of mourning, often labeled as Mannerist, Pontormo abandons naturalistic space and gravity, instead creating swirling, weightless figures rendered in vivid, unnatural colors. In this video, we explore the painting’s destabilizing composition and how Pontormo invites his viewers to feel rather than simply witness the sorrow of Christ’s death. Ultimately, the work fulfilled its purpose as a funerary monument by ensuring the lasting remembrance of its patron, the wealthy banker Lodovico di Gino Capponi.

Speaker: Dr. Heather Graham

CHAPTERS

0:00 Claiming a Sacred Space: Capponi’s Chapel

1:05 Pontormo's Altarpiece

1:30 A Weightless World

2:07 What did Pontormo paint?

2:39 The Lost Program: The Ceiling and Walls

3:31 Grief as the Real Subject?

4:40 Breaking the Rules of Space and Color

5:25 A Mannerist Work?

6:21 Capponi’s Lasting Legacy

Learn more

Discover more about Renaissance Italy: https://www.artsq.org/early-modern-europe

Check out our AP Art History resources: https://www.artsq.org/ap-art-history-resources