Portrait of an Engraver of Semi-Precious Stones

The young man holds a carved stone up between his fingers, and that small object is the whole point. He cut gems and cameos for a living, and Pontormo lets his trade identify him. It was painted around 1518 in Florence, when Pontormo was in his early twenties and just stepping out from the studio of Andrea del Sarto. His generation was pulling away from the balanced calm of the High Renaissance toward something more nervous and personal, the manner later called Mannerism. You can feel it in the sitter's twist and his wary, sidelong look. The picture entered the French royal collections and is recorded in the Louvre, where it has remained.