Nomenclature[edit]

Mannerism role-model: Laocoon, an ancient Greek sculpture (Roman copy), rediscovered in 1507; now
in the Vatican. The artists of Mannerism greatly admired this piece of sculpture. [2]

The word mannerism derives from the Italian maniera, meaning "style" or "manner". Like
the English word "style", manieracan either indicate a specific type of style (a beautiful
style, an abrasive style) or indicate an absolute that needs no qualification (someone "has
style").[6] In the second edition of his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and
Architects (1568), Giorgio Vasari used maniera in three different contexts: to discuss an
artist's manner or method of working; to describe a personal or group style, such as the
term maniera greca to refer to the Byzantine style or simply to the maniera of
Michelangelo; and to affirm a positive judgment of artistic quality. [7] Vasari was also a
Mannerist artist, and he described the period in which he worked as "la maniera moderna",
or the "modern style".[8] James V. Mirollo describes how "bella maniera" poets attempted
to surpass in virtuosity the sonnets of Petrarch.[9] This notion of "bella maniera" suggests
that artists thus inspired looked to copying and bettering their predecessors, rather than
confronting nature directly. In essence, "bella maniera" utilized the best from a number of
source materials, synthesizing it into something new.[9]
As a stylistic label, "Mannerism" is not easily defined. It was used by Swiss historian Jacob
Burckhardt and popularized by German art historians in the early 20th century to
categorize the seemingly uncategorizable art of the Italian 16th century art that was no
longer found to exhibit the harmonious and rational approaches associated with the High
Renaissance. High Renaissance connoted a period distinguished by harmony, grandeur
and the revival of classical antiquity. (The term was redefined in 1967 by John Shearman.)
[10] The label Mannerism was used during the 16th century to comment on social
behaviour and to convey a refined virtuoso quality or to signify a certain technique.
However, for later writers, such as the 17th-century Gian Pietro Bellori, "la maniera" was a
derogatory term for the perceived decline of art after Raphael, especially in the 1530s and
1540s.[11] From the late 19th century on, art historians have commonly used the term to
describe art that follows Renaissance classicism and precedes the Baroque.
Yet historians differ as to whether Mannerism is a style, a movement, or a period; and
while the term remains controversial it is still commonly used to identify European art and
culture of the 16th century.[12]