St. Quintinus 1518

Jacopo Pontormo painted this image of Saint Quintinus in the traditional medium of oil on wood panel. But look closely at what he’s showing us. It’s not just the saint’s suffering that Pontormo wants us to consider, but also the instruments of torture. The stout wooden beams and sharp metal implements aren’t just props in a religious drama. They are objects in their own right, made by unseen hands. The carpenter’s tools and blacksmith's forge were just as essential to this story as the painter’s brush. We can almost feel the weight of the wood, imagine the heat of the forge. By highlighting these elements, Pontormo subtly reminds us that even the most elevated artistic visions are grounded in the material world and the labor of those who shape it. The very act of painting is, after all, a kind of making too. In the end, whether a humble tool or an exquisite altarpiece, it’s all about skilled hands bringing form to matter.