ON CHRISTMAS DAY. . .

  A MORNING OF TIMID SIGNS . . . a possible sunny day. . . then  high winds steadily swept in thick grey clouds. . .  but no rain . . . that was our Christmas day here in Florence. There was a highlight for me though. . .

The Certosa Monastery

..  the setting of the Christmas Mass. . . which every year is held in  the museum of the monastery of "The Certosa of Galuzzo", constructed in 1342. This  monastery  sits high on a hill at the south of the city of Florence and is where the famous painter, Pontormo, (1494 - 1557), lived and worked for a brief period.

The museum where Pontormo's work is shown and where Mass is held

It's always difficult for me to concentrate on the religious rituals when I am here.  I can't take my eyes away from the frescos.  They were realized in the period of 1523- 1525 and originally placed in the large Cloister of the monastery. Ruined by time and inclement conditions, the pigments are faded in part, but the  strength and innovation of Pontormo's work is notable. He was a pupil in the school of Andrea del Sarto  together with another famous painter of the Renaissance and Mannerism, il Rosso Fiorentino.

The frescos found in this room are part of the series of the Passion of Christ.

"The Deposition of Christ"

"The Resurection"

"The Oration in the Garden"

Can you wonder that I am distracted?  Every visit is a new emotion!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontormo . . "
In 1522,when the plague broke out in Florence, Pontormo left for the Certosa di Galluzzo, a cloistered Carthusian monastery where the monks followed vows of silence. He painted a series of frescoes, now quite damaged, on the passion and resurrection of Christ."

http://www.frammentiarte.it/dal%20Gotico/Pontormo%20opere/12%20storie%20della%20passione.htm