Pontormo, the screen and transparency. Artist's diaries in the digital age

Abstract

Pontormo's diary strongly contributed to codifying the stereotype of the hypochondriac and unapproachable Renaissance artist. This essay retraces the stages in the formation of the cliché, both in non-fiction and in recent Italian poetry. The screening highlights two features: the painter's self-isolation and the constant monitoring of his physiological functions. This paper therefore proposes a comparison with five diaries by contemporary artists, in order to identify their similarities with Potormo's model within the frame of hikikomori withdrawal and the online over-representation of the self. The conclusions focus on the impact of the Pontormo's model in terms of a "transparent body", whose biological and physiological processes are constantly exhibited and mediated online.