The large altarpiece canvas for the Brunelleschi-designed Capponi Chapel in the church of Santa Felicita, Florence, portraying The Deposition from the Cross, is considered by many Pontormo's surviving masterpiece (1528).

The figures, with their sharply modeled forms and brilliant colors are united in an enormously complex, swirling ovular composition, housed by a shallow, somewhat flattened space.

Although commonly known as The Deposition from the Cross, there is no actual cross in the picture.

The scene might more properly be called a Lamentation or Bearing the Body of Christ.

Those who are lowering (or supporting) Christ appear as anguished as the mourners.

Though they are bearing the weight of a full-grown man, they barely seem to be touching the ground; the lower figure in particular balances delicately and implausibly on his front two toes.

These two boys have sometimes been interpreted as angels, carrying Christ in his journey to Heaven.

In this case, the subject of the picture would be more akin to an Entombment, though the lack of any discernible tomb disrupts that theory, just as the lack of cross poses a problem for the Deposition interpretation.

Finally, it has also been noted that the positions of Christ and the Virgin seem to echo those of Michelangelo's Pietà in Rome, though here in the Deposition mother and son have been separated.

Thus in addition to elements of a Lamentation and Entombment, this picture carries hints of a Pietà.

It has been speculated that the bearded figure in the background at the far right is a self-portrait of Pontormo as Joseph of Arimathea.

Another unique feature of this particular Deposition is the empty space occupying the central pictorial plane as all the Biblical personages seem to fall back from this point.

It has been suggested that this emptiness may be a physical representation of the Virgin Mary's emotional emptiness at the prospect of losing her son.

Construction of Château de Fontainebleau and the Introduction of Renaissance Architecture to France (1528)

In 1528, King Francis I of France initiates an ambitious project to reconstruct and expand the Château de Fontainebleau, transforming it from a modest medieval hunting lodge into a grand royal residence. The castle, strategically situated amidst abundant game and natural springs, had been favored by French royalty since at least the twelfth century, hosting monarchs from Louis VII to Philip IV ("le Bel"). Despite modifications made under Queen Isabeau of Bavaria during the early fifteenth century, the castle retained its primarily medieval character until Francis's intervention.

Francis assembles a remarkable group of French, Italian, and Flemish artists and craftsmen, notably the French architect Gilles le Breton, to carry out the redesign. This collaborative effort introduces the refined aesthetics of the Italian Renaissance to France, marking a significant stylistic shift from medieval fortification to ornate palace architecture. One of the earliest and most notable developments is the construction of the Gallery of Francis I, a splendid corridor allowing direct passage between the royal apartments and the adjacent chapel of the Couvent des Trinitaires, highlighting the integration of art, architecture, and convenience in royal planning.

Prominent artists such as the Flemish painter Joos van Cleve travel to Fontainebleau around this time, further demonstrating the international prestige of Francis’s court. Van Cleve, renowned for both portraiture and religious subjects, is thought to have created several portraits of Francis I, thereby linking the artistic production at Fontainebleau with major contemporary currents in Flemish painting.

The establishment and decoration of Fontainebleau ultimately give rise to the School of Fontainebleau, an influential artistic movement characterized by elegant Mannerist styles blending Italian models with Northern European traditions.

Long-term Consequences and Significance

The ambitious redevelopment of Fontainebleau symbolizes a turning point in French architectural and artistic history. It introduces and firmly establishes Italian Renaissance and early Mannerist styles in France, transforming subsequent royal building projects and influencing aristocratic tastes across the kingdom. This cultural and aesthetic shift sets the stage for the French Renaissance, characterized by refined elegance and complex ornamentation, eventually influencing broader European art and architecture. Fontainebleau itself becomes a key model for subsequent châteaux, representing the synthesis of royal power, artistic patronage, and cultural sophistication in early modern France.

Rosso Fiorentino and the Château de Fontainebleau (1530)

In 1530, Rosso Fiorentino, a prominent Florentine painter who had trained alongside Pontormo under Andrea del Sarto, arrives at the French court of King Francis I. Having fled Rome after the traumatic Sack of 1527, Rosso brings with him the sophisticated artistic ideals of the Italian High Renaissance and the emerging Mannerist style.

Under the supervision of Gilles Le Breton, architect of the Château de Fontainebleau's ambitious renovation begun in 1528, Rosso contributes significantly to the château's ongoing transformation. Le Breton, entrusted with the renovation, preserves the medieval donjon and integrates it into the new Cour Ovale (Oval Courtyard), built upon the original castle foundations. This innovative structure includes the imposing Porte Dorée (Golden Gate) to the south and the monumental Renaissance staircase, the portique de Serlio, designed to grant majestic access to the royal apartments on the northern side.

Artistic Contributions and Influences

Rosso Fiorentino's arrival signals a vital infusion of Italian Renaissance and early Mannerist styles into French art. His artistic journey had previously led him to Rome in 1523, where the monumental art of Michelangelo and Raphaeldeeply influenced him. This Roman experience reshaped his style, inspiring emotionally charged compositions characterized by elongated figures and dramatic gestures, exemplified by his painting The Dead Christ with Angels.

Rosso’s tenure at Fontainebleau is marked by collaboration with fellow Italian master Francesco Primaticcio. Together, they pioneer a distinctive style known as the School of Fontainebleau, merging elegant Italian classicism with vibrant decorative exuberance. Among Rosso's significant contributions is the design of richly decorative frescoes, stucco reliefs, and paintings adorning the palace interiors, establishing Fontainebleau as a paramount example of French Renaissance art and architecture.

Long-term Significance and Influence

Rosso Fiorentino’s arrival in France marks a pivotal moment in the transmission of Italian Renaissance ideas to Northern Europe. His contributions, alongside Primaticcio, lay the foundations of the School of Fontainebleau, which profoundly shapes French court art and architecture throughout the sixteenth century and beyond. The aesthetic ideals developed here not only dominate artistic tastes in France but also become influential across Europe, heralding the onset of French artistic preeminence in the later Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Andrea dies in Florence at age forty-three during an outbreak of bubonic plague in either 1530 or 1531.

He is buried unceremoniously in the church of the Servites.

In Lives of the Artists, Vasari claimed Andrea received no attention at all from his wife during his terminal illness.

However, it was well-known at the time that plague was highly contagious, so it has been speculated that Lucrezia was simply afraid to contract the virulent and frequently fatal disease.

If true, this well-founded caution was rewarded, as she will survive her husband by forty years.

Andrea del Sarto in 1529 completes “The Sacrifice of Isaac”, a composition that some scholars will find either protobaroque or suggestive of the Mannerist experiments undertaken by Sarto’s increasingly famous pupils: Jacopo Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, and the seventeen-year-old Giorgio Vasari.

It was Michelangelo who had introduced Vasari in 1524 to Andrea's studio.

He is said to have thought very highly of Andrea's talents.

Of those who initially followed his style in Florence, the most prominent would have been Pontormo, but also Rosso Fiorentino, Francesco Salviati and Jacopino del Conte.

Other lesser known assistants and pupils include Bernardo del Buda, Lamberto Lombardi, Nannuccio Fiorentino and Andrea Squazzella.

Vasari, however, will be highly critical of his teacher, alleging that, though having all the prerequisites of a great artist, he lacked ambition and that divine fire of inspiration which animated the works of his more famous contemporaries, like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.

Francesco Primaticcio Arrives at Fontainebleau (1531)

Francesco Primaticcio, a prominent Bolognese painter and architect associated with the Mannerist style, began his artistic career working closely with Giulio Romano at the Palazzo del Te in Mantua, between about 1525–26 and 1531. During this period, Primaticcio mastered techniques that combined decorative painting with elaborate stucco ornamentation, contributing significantly to the highly ornate Mannerist style of interior decoration.

In 1531, King Francis I invited Primaticcio to France to join the Florentine artist Rosso Fiorentino in the ongoing decorative program of the royal Château de Fontainebleau. Primaticcio’s arrival marked a turning point for the château, as the collaborative efforts of Rosso and Primaticcio, who became leaders of what later became known as the First School of Fontainebleau, would profoundly shape French artistic tastes. Their distinctive style featured elongated figures, intricate ornamentation, and a harmonious blend of frescoes with stucco reliefs, bringing Italianate sophistication into the heart of French Renaissance art.

Artistic Significance and Long-term Impact

Primaticcio’s arrival established Fontainebleau as a central hub for the dissemination of Italian Mannerism throughout France and northern Europe. The lavish, inventive decorations that he co-created at Fontainebleau not only enhanced the château’s artistic prestige but also laid the foundation for future developments in French decorative arts, influencing generations of artists and patrons throughout the sixteenth century and beyond.

The Flamboyant Gothic style, as the last major period of Gothic art and architecture comes to be called, has finally been superseded by the Mannerist style, which had originated in Rome but had quickly spread, in the work of Giulio Romano and Perino De Vaga, throughout Italy.

Il Rosso Fiorentino, who had left Rome in 1530 to work at the Chateau de Fontainebleau, had carried the style to France, and together with his Bolognese assistant, Francesco Primaticcio, has introduced Mannerist idioms to France and Northern Europe through the paintings, frescoes, and ornamental stuccowork they have created.

Because works by all these artists are disseminated through engravings, Mannerism becomes a European phenomenon by 1540.

Rosso dies by his own hand (according to according to an unsubstantiated claim by Giorgio Vasari, his biographer) at forty-five on November 14, 1540.

Primaticcio, an architect, decorator, painter, and stuccoist who had studied under Gulio Romano, takes control of the artistic direction at Fontainebleau, furnishing the painters and stuccators of his team, such as Niccolò dell'Abbate, with designs.

Primaticcio makes cartoons for tapestry-weavers and, like all sixteenth-century court artists, is called upon to design elaborate ephemeral decorations for masques and fêtes, which survive only in preparatory drawings and, sometimes, engravings.

François trusts his eye and had sent him back to Italy on buying trips in 1540 and again in 1545.

Part of Primaticcio's commission is to take casts of the best Roman sculptures in the papal collections, some of which are cast in bronze to decorate the parterres at Fontainebleau.

His crowded Mannerist compositions and his long-legged canon of beauty will influence French art for the rest of the century.