PONTORMO

From 9 October 2026 to 7 February 2027, the Scuderie del Quirinale will present the first major monographic exhibition ever devoted to Pontormo.

One of the defining figures of sixteenth-century Florentine painting, Pontormo (1494–1557) stands at the pivotal moment between the High Renaissance and Mannerism. An artist of extraordinary originality, he transformed the classical language inherited from his predecessors into a highly personal and innovative visual expression. His singular artistic vision has secured his enduring influence, inspiring generations of twentieth-century artists and intellectuals—from Pier Paolo Pasolini to Bill Viola—and establishing him as one of the most admired and sought-after masters of the Italian Renaissance. Celebrated alike by scholars, collectors, and the wider public, Pontormo is now the subject of a landmark exhibition dedicated exclusively to his life and artistic achievement.

Organised by Ales – Scuderie del Quirinale in partnership with the Uffizi Galleries, and produced in collaboration with Electa, the exhibition is curated by Cristina Acidini, one of the foremost authorities on sixteenth-century Florentine art, with the support of a distinguished scholarly committee comprising Elena Capretti, Philippe Costamagna, Bruce Edelstein, and Carlo Falciani.

Bringing together the artist’s most important paintings alongside an exceptional selection of drawings, the exhibition offers an unprecedented opportunity to explore the full breadth of Pontormo’s artistic production. In addition to a remarkable group of works from the Uffizi Galleries, the exhibition will feature exceptional loans from leading museums and collections worldwide, including the Galleria dell’Accademia, the Musei del Bargello, the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, the Musée du Louvre, the National Gallery (London), the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), the Art Institute of Chicago, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and other major international institutions.

At the heart of the exhibition will be Pontormo’s celebrated masterpiece, The Visitation, generously lent by the Church of San Michele Arcangelo in Carmignano. Around this iconic work, an exceptional group of paintings and drawings will illuminate the artist’s creative development, his innovative pictorial language, and the richness of his artistic imagination.

The exhibition unfolds through a visually compelling installation that follows a broadly chronological narrative while offering focused thematic sections devoted to the principal moments of Pontormo’s career and the defining aspects of his artistic practice.

Published by Electa, the accompanying catalogue will constitute a significant scholarly contribution to the study of Pontormo, presenting the most up-to-date research on the artist within the broader historical and cultural context of sixteenth-century Florence and the development of Italian painting between the High Renaissance and Mannerism.