MANNERISM

Mannerism
The wordmannerismderives from the Italianmaniera,
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").
Mannerism is notable for its intellectual sophistication
as well as its artificial (as opposed to naturalistic)
qualities.
AperiodofEuropean artthat emerged from the later
years of the ItalianHigh Renaissancearound 1520.

Mannerism
It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when
theBaroquestyle began to replace it,
butNorthern Mannerismcontinued into the
early 17th century.
Stylistically, Mannerism encompasses a
variety of approaches influenced by, and
reacting to, the harmonious ideals associated
with artists such asLeonardo da
Vinci,Raphael, and earlyMichelangelo.

Early
mannerism

The early Mannerists in Florenceespecially the

students ofAndrea del Sarto:Jacopo da
PontormoandRosso Fiorentinoare notable for
elongated forms, precariously balanced poses, a collapsed
perspective, irrational settings, and theatrical lighting.
The earliest experimental phase of Mannerism, known
for its "anti-classical" forms, lasted until about 1540 or
1550.
Parmigianino(a student ofCorreggio) andGiulio
Romano(Raphaels head assistant) were moving in
similarly stylized aesthetic directions in Rome.

 Girolamo Francesco Maria

Mazzola(also known
asFrancesco Mazzolaorthe
scientistor, more commonly,
asParmigianino("the little
one from Parma"); 11
January 1503 24 August
1540) was
anItalianManneristpainter
andprintmakeractive in
Florence,Rome,Bologna,
and his native city
ofParma.

High
maniera

The second period of Mannerism is commonly

differentiatedfrom the earlier, so-called "anticlassical" phase.
Subsequent mannerists stressed intellectual conceits
and artistic virtuosity, features that have led later
critics to accuse them of working in an unnatural
and affected "manner" (maniera).
Maniera artists looked to their older contemporary
Michelangelo as their principal model; theirs was an
art imitating art, rather than an art imitating nature.

Sculpture

 TheStatue of
David, completed
by Michelangelo
in 1504, is one
of the most
renowned works
of the
Renaissance, role
model for many
other early Italian
Mannerist

 Stuccooverdoo
ratFontainebl
eau, probably
designed
byPrimaticcio,
who painted
the oval inset,
1530s or
1540s

 Benvenuto
Cellini,Perseus with
the head of Medusa,
15451554

 Giambologna,Sam
son Slaying a
Philistine, about
1562

 Giambologna,Rape
of the Sabine
Women, 1583,
Florence, Italy, 13' 6"
high,marble

 Adriaen de
Vries,Mercury and
PsycheNorthern
Manneristlife-size
bronze, made in
1593 forRudolf
II, Holy Roman
Emperor

 Venus, c. 125;
Marble,
Roman;British
Museum

Early theorists

Giorgio Vasari'sopinions about the art of painting

emerge in the praise he bestows on fellow artists in
his multi-volumeLives of the Artists: he believed that
excellence in painting demanded refinement, richness
of invention (invenzione), expressed through virtuoso
technique (maniera), and wit and study that appeared
in the finished work, all criteria that emphasized the
artist's intellect and the patron's sensibility.

Another literary figure from the period

isGian Paolo Lomazzo, who produced two
worksone practical and one metaphysical
that helped define the Mannerist artist's
self-conscious relation to his art. HisTrattato
dell'arte della pittura, scoltura et
architettura(Milan, 1584) is in part a guide
to contemporary concepts ofdecorum, which
the Renaissance inherited in part from
Antiquity but Mannerism elaborated upon.

Some
mannerist
examples

 Jacopo da Pontormo
Jacopo da Pontormo'sJoseph in Egyptfeatures what
would in the Renaissance have been considered
incongruous colors and an incoherent handling of time
and space.
Rosso Fiorentino and the School of Fontainebleau
Rosso Fiorentino, who had been a fellow pupil of
Pontormo in the studio ofAndrea del Sarto, in 1530
brought Florentine mannerism to Fontainebleau, where he
became one of the founders of French 16th-century
Mannerism, popularly known as the "School of
Fontainebleau".
Agnolo Bronzino
Mannerist portraits byAgnolo Bronzinoare

Alessandro Allori
Alessandro Allori's (15351607)Susanna and the Elders(below) is
distinguished by latent eroticism and consciously brilliant still life
detail, in a crowded, contorted composition.
Tintoretto
Tintoretto'sLast Supper(below) focuses on light and motion, bringing
the image to dramatic life. Unlike more traditional views of the Last
Supper, Tintoretto depicts Heaven opening up into the room, and
theangelslooking on in awe, in line with the old Catholic maxim that
"If the angels were capable of envy, they would envy the Eucharist.
El Greco
El Grecoattempted to expressreligiousemotion with exaggerated
traits. El Greco still is a deeply original artist. El Greco has been
characterized by modern scholars as an artist so individual that he
belongs to no conventional school.

Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellinicreated theCellini Salt Cellarof gold and enamel in
1540 featuringPoseidonandAmphitrite(water and earth) placed in
uncomfortable positions and with elongated proportions. It is considered a
masterpiece of Mannerist sculpture.
Joachim Wtewael
Joachim Wtewael(1566-1638) continued to paint in a Northern
Mannerist style until the end of his life, ignoring the arrival of the
Baroque, and making him perhaps the last significant Mannerist artist still
to be working. His subjects included large scenes with still life in the
manner ofPieter Aertsen, and mythological scenes, many smallcabinet
paintingsbeautifully executed on copper, and most featuring nudity.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Giuseppe Arcimboldo(also spelledArcimboldi) is known for his portraits
contrived from astill lifecomposition.