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Issues Of Mannerism Essay, Research Paper

Issues of Mannerism

The movement in painting that is now referred to as Mannerism began in Italy around 1520, influenced artists throughout Europe, and lasted until the end of the 16th century. The word Mannerism originates from the Italian word maniera which translates into the English word style. The basis of Mannerism then is style; it?s a period of art where the focus was on grace and beauty. While preceding trends of Renaissance art looked to nature to find their style, working to perfect it, Mannerists manipulated nature creating a gross perfection of human form, idealizing forms to the point of abstraction.

Definitions of Mannerist art as well as the reasons for its appearance as a movement are still contested today. For a definition of mannerism to have validity, it must offer a valid origination of the movement. Much is revealed when the reasons behind a certain artistic expression are clear. Until the 19th century, Mannerist art was considered by most to be perverse and capricious. It was considered simply an excessive use of a specific manner of which contained qualities that were strange and unjustified. It was thought that extravagance, a need for increased productivity, and a lack of artistic knowledge led to the Mannerist style.

In the early part of the 20th century, these generalizations were considered unfair, and many new theories about the origins of Mannerism surfaced. Some theories suggest that artists were displaying a conscious deviance, painting against the rules of classical art, and rebelling against the High Renaissance and the ideal of naturalness. The spiritual unrest of the age is often considered the root of this deviant artistic behavior.

John Shearman points out in Mannerism that the wars of the early 16th century created a period of economic and social disturbance creating the growth of Mannerist style. He says “most works of art are insulated in the mind of the artist even from his personal crises, joys and tragedies” (40). More reasonable, he says, are explanations of Mannerism in terms of sociological and religious influences. There was a new development in patronage during this period where works were commissioned for no other reason than to have a work made by a certain artist. Many times the subject, and/or the medium were to be decided upon by the artist.

Rosso Fiorentino?s Descent From the Cross has a profoundly disquieting, visionary style that indicates a deep inner anxiety. There is a cold, icy feel to the painting. Spidery forms spread across a dark sky, and the figures are agitated yet rigid. Even the drapery appears hard, the folds look brittle and ready to crack. The light that bathes the figures and the colors of clothing are brilliant but unreal which reinforces the bad dream feel. Beginning with Mannerism, art begins to become more about the artist than the subject or the person who commissioned it. The pain and distress of Fiorentino is apparent in his work.

In his book Mannerism and Maniera, Craig Smyth explains the belief that Mannerist style was connected with the desire for experimentation and creating art for art?s sake rather than a spiritual crisis of the period. Smyth also believes that what is usually considered the anti-classical style of Mannerism is based on classical style specifically antique relief. He suggests that Mannerists connected with the idealization of classical art. Smyth says, “the classic solution kept painters feeling at one with them, not in the opposition” (27).

Influenced by the figures of an antique relief, the figures in Pontormo?s Deposition appear to be molded out of stone; graceful linear rhythms are created by the intertwined geometric forms. The claustrophobic staging of the figures and the way they are all pushed up the front of the canvas closely resembles the unrealistic space of a relief. Pontormo?s forms have a sculptural solidity and cold gray flesh as if they were made of stone. Like a battle relief where no figure has a personal identity, each of Pontormo?s figures closely resemble the next, each of their heads and consistently small and oval. The artist was more concerned with grace, form, and details such as drapery rather than the individualism of each character.

In his Madonna with the Long Neck, Parmigianino pays close attention to body parts that rarely receive much focus. Shearman says that “There is no figure of speech more characteristic of the language of Mannerism than the figura serpentinata” (81). That is, the figure and all its parts should resemble the letter S. Almost every aspect of Parmigianino?s entire work flows gracefully like the tip of a flame: the Madonna?s neck, her fingers, her enormous body, the child in her lap, and the woman that adorns her on her left. The figura serpentinata was considered the hallmark of beauty, “leading the eye is a pleasing manner along the continuity of its variety” (Summers, 269).

Classical style was interested in portraying the earthly perfection of a human being. While Mannerists were aware of the qualities of perfection, they refined those features to the point of abstraction. In Elizabeth Cropper?s essay “On Beautiful Women, Parmigainino, Petrarchismo, and the Vernacular Style”, she comments on Pietro Testa?s notes on painting. Testa took unusually clear and concise notes about the features that render a woman beautiful: the shape of her lips, part of her hair, even the color of her gums. The body of Parmigianino?s Madonna mimics the form of the antique vase held by the figure on the right of the Madonna. It is the shape of an ideal woman according to Testa. The Madonna?s neck is long and graceful like that of a swan, and her fingers seem to slither across her chest like the tongue of a snake. The leg of the figure at the Madonna?s side is long, slender and smooth. Parmigianino was

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