Uffizi Partner on Landmark Pontormo Exhibition in Rome

The first major monographic exhibition devoted to Jacopo Pontormo will open at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome from 9 October 2026 to 7 February 2027, bringing together the largest selection of the artist’s works ever assembled. Although hosted in the Italian capital, the exhibition is firmly rooted in Florence, where Pontormo spent almost his entire career and where many of his greatest masterpieces remain today. The project is promoted by the Scuderie del Quirinale in partnership with the Uffizi Galleries, underlining the central role of Florence in preserving and interpreting the artist’s legacy. 

A landmark exhibition for a Florentine master

Despite being regarded as one of the defining painters of the sixteenth century, Pontormo has never before been the subject of a major exhibition dedicated exclusively to his work. Born in Pontorme, near Empoli, in 1494 and active almost entirely in Florence until his death in 1557, the artist played a pivotal role in the transition from the balanced ideals of the High Renaissance to the expressive innovations of Mannerism.

Known for his bold compositions, luminous colours and emotionally charged figures, Pontormo influenced generations of artists and has continued to inspire writers, filmmakers and contemporary artists well into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Yet, until now, no institution had attempted a comprehensive retrospective bringing together the breadth of his artistic production. 

Florence and the Uffizi at the heart of the project

For Florence, the exhibition represents far more than a prestigious loan programme. The Uffizi Galleries are the exhibition’s principal institutional partner and will provide one of the largest groups of works on display, reaffirming their status as the world’s leading repository of Pontormo’s paintings and drawings.

The Florentine museum’s contribution will allow visitors to follow the evolution of the painter’s career from his early experiments to his mature masterpieces. More broadly, the collaboration reinforces Florence’s position as the city where Pontormo developed his artistic language and where the cultural environment that shaped his work can still be experienced today. 

International masterpieces reunited

Alongside the Uffizi loans, the exhibition will feature exceptional works from some of the world’s most important museums, including the Louvre in Paris, the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Art Institute of Chicago, the British Museum, the Galleria dell’Accademia, the Bargello Museums and the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica. 

One of the exhibition’s highlights will be The Visitation, on loan from the Church of San Michele Arcangelo in Carmignano, near Prato. Widely regarded as Pontormo’s masterpiece, the painting will serve as one of the focal points of the exhibition, accompanied by an exceptional selection of drawings that offer insight into the artist’s creative process. 

A new look at Renaissance Florence

Curated by Cristina Acidini, one of Italy’s leading scholars of Renaissance Florence, together with Elena Capretti, Philippe Costamagna, Bruce Edelstein and Carlo Falciani, the exhibition will follow a predominantly chronological itinerary while also exploring key themes in Pontormo’s work.

Rather than presenting the artist in isolation, the exhibition will place him within the cultural and artistic life of sixteenth-century Florence, examining how his innovations reshaped painting during one of the city’s most creative periods. The accompanying catalogue, published by Electa, is expected to become a new reference work on Pontormo and on the evolution of Florentine painting between the High Renaissance and Mannerism. 

Practical information

Pontormo will be on view at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome from 9 October 2026 to 7 February 2027. The exhibition is promoted by Ales – Scuderie del Quirinale in partnership with the Uffizi Galleries and produced with Electa.

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