Vertumnus and Pomona

The fresco of Vertumnus and Pomona by Pontormo, painted around 1519-1521 in the salone of the Medici Villa at Poggio a Caiano, is one of the most original mythological paintings of the sixteenth century. Commissioned by Pope Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici) to decorate the family's country villa, the lunette depicts the classical tale of the god Vertumnus disguising himself as an old woman to woo the nymph Pomona. Pontormo transforms the pastoral subject into an enigmatic, idyllic scene of country life, with figures lounging on a parapet wall in attitudes of relaxed informality unprecedented in Medici decoration.

The lunette composition brilliantly exploits the curved architectural format, with figures arranged along the parapet in a seemingly casual but carefully orchestrated frieze. The outdoor setting is rendered with a luminous, golden palette that creates an atmosphere of pastoral reverie, while the figures' relaxed poses and the absence of dramatic narrative action give the scene its uniquely contemplative character.