Volta 1515

Curator: Standing here, looking up, we are face to face with "Volta," a fresco tempera painting from around 1515 by Jacopo Pontormo. Editor: My neck hurts already, but wow, what a party of colours up there! It's like Renaissance-era fireworks, if fireworks were made of cherubs and elaborate squiggles. Is it me, or is it fighting for attention in a major way? Curator: It certainly reflects a dynamic moment in Italian art, when decorative excess and the illusion of space were highly valued. These ceiling frescoes were powerful symbols of wealth and sophistication, showcasing the patron’s cultural capital. Editor: "Cultural capital"—I love that. I can almost hear the patron saying, “My ceiling is fancier than your ceiling!” But seriously, the perspective trickery must have blown people away back then. It’s like they’re trying to create an entirely new world on this ceiling, full of symbolic narratives about the patron’s power and virtue, that ordinary people could marvel at! Curator: Precisely. Pontormo was playing with perceptions, challenging the viewer’s sense of space and employing a highly ornamental vocabulary to reinforce the patron's image and importance. It’s no accident that these themes of greatness were tied to visual excess. Editor: I suppose the interesting thing is that while the brushwork is so expressive and so loose, these kinds of interiors must also be so staged and managed. All those beautiful squiggles were for a political end! Still, even seeing this image in 2D now, I feel transported. You’ve gotta love art's ability to give people, past and present, something to daydream about. Curator: I completely agree. It serves as an insight into the values of the period while inspiring aesthetic appreciation. Editor: Well, now that we know what we're looking at I think it may be time to have a look around, if I do say so myself!