Pontormo was born Jacopo di Carrucci in the town of Pontormo, in May, 1494. His father, Jacopo di Martino Carrucci, was also an artist in the Florentine republic, who studied in the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio. Martino Carrucci married Alessandra di Pasquale di Zanobi and had two children, Jacopo and an unnamed daughter. With the deaths of Pontormo’s father in 1499 and mother in 1504, Pontormo went to stay with his grandmother, Mona Brigida. Under Brigida’s care, Pontormo studied the subjects of reading, writing, and Latin. When Pontormo turned 13, he was sent to Florence to stay with a distant relative, Bernardo Vettori, a cobbler. Shortly after, Pontormo resided with Leonardo da Vinci. From there he began more serious painting studies in the workshop of Albertinelli, from 1508-1510. After time with Albertinelli, Pontormo stayed with Piero di Cosimo. Then in 1512 Pontormo became an assistant to Andrea del Sarto. Pontormo’s work with del Sarto enforced Fra Bartolommeo’s style, which was widely studied in Florence during this time. Pontormo’s independent work was “mainly founded on Fra Bartolommeo, but with Sartesque elements.”

MANNERIST ARTISTS
Bronzino
Michelangelo
Parmignino
Andrea del Sarto