Jacopo Pontormo; Joseph in Egypt

Joseph in Egypt, Jacopo Pontormo, 1515-18, oil on wood

According to Vasari this painting is possibly his most beautiful work and that is Joseph in Egypt, this very chaotic work is very much a Mannerist painting in its complex and ambiguous meaning. This particular painting shows many episodes of Joseph's stay in Egypt but we can't really start anywhere, all the space seems to be taken up and we are just confused and overwhelmed with all that is going on. Vasari states "I should venture to say that it would be impossible to see another painting executed with as much grace, perfection and good craftsmanship as that employed by Jacopo in this one. " This painting shows the style of Mannerism by showing the artificial over the natural in the faces and collection of ground levels, and a very intensely ambiguous and complex composition. with this painting we are moving farther away from the principles of classicism and the Renaissance style and we start to discover the more abstruse and conflicting ideals of Mannerism.