Pontormo's Red Chalk Drawings on View at Rome's Istituto Centrale per la Grafica

A major exhibition of Pontormo's red chalk drawings is on display at the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica in Rome, showcasing the entire collection of the artist's works from the Corsini bequest for the first time. The drawings, which originally belonged to Cardinal Neri Maria Corsini, represent the second-largest holding of Pontormo's graphic works after the Uffizi, yet remain little known. The exhibition highlights Pontormo's eccentric and anti-naturalistic style, placing him among the Mannerist painters active in the first half of the 16th century. Curator Giorgio Marini notes that most of the drawings were originally part of a sketchbook, a common tool in Renaissance workshops for transmitting model archives, including figure studies and invention sketches. The drawings reveal Pontormo's study of Leonardo da Vinci's musculature and Michelangelo's influence, as well as his use of small wax or terracotta sculptures to study the human body from various angles. This practice informed his later, more exaggerated and unrealistic visions. The exhibition runs at the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, located in Rome.