Mannerism began to make its first appearance in Cinquecento paintings as a counter to the High Renaissance. According to Bellori, there was a decline, “artists, abandoning the study of nature, corrupted art with la maniera… on idea based on practice and not on the imitation of nature.” (22). The focus of nature slowly began to be replaced by a tendency to generalize and idealize (27).
In the 19th century mannerism was known as a decline that began in Rome in approx. 1530. This decline was characterized by “unjustified habitual peculiarities, remote from nature”. This decline was considered inevitable and correlated with the status change in artists in Italy in which they transformed from journeymen to courtesans (24). The new aesthetic was a response and possibly even a rebellion to the high Renaissance.
Art in Italy was constantly in a transition, and there is no official distinction between the first Florentine generations that began experimenting in the mannerist styles (285). Vasari constructed a list of the attributes missing from paintings before 1500 and the contributions made to the trade during the 16th century. He viewed art in the mid century as if it were at a peak, an “ultimate limit“. The main contribution he mentioned was what he called “a new unified sweetness in color.” (38). Another example of a change in the structure of art was figures in rest and motion - the principles of positioning figures. Armenini described it as, “whatever surface the flat light of maniera touches, this surface, flat or not, tends to look flat until one pauses to analyze it.” (39). Painters like Bronzino experimented greatly with three dimensional posing suggesting a link between flatness and the need of freedom and flexibility (41).
In the years that followed the religious and political turmoil in Italy, mannerism became a complex means of illustrating spiritual urgencies and repression. Artists responded sophistically by continually changing their stylistic renderings. Even the art of Mannerism has evolved and changed- even in views of the contemporary (286).
The concept of mannerism- and parts of the readings were difficult to grasp at first. At the end of the day, mannerism was a response to the Renaissance and it gained influence from other artists and a changing social status for artists. All great things must come to and end. The Renaissance, to many, was viewed as an apex for Italian art. The interdiction of change was received with mixed reviews- and the change that preceded the Renaissance was Mannerism. Also- it is important to note that Mannerism is still alive today, though it has transformed from its original forms. Even the second generation of mannerism painters in the mid 1500’s evolved from the first masters in the genre. I guess the point here being that it is the nature of art to continue to transform and it will continue to do so as it has in the past; and that each transformation will be met with an array of acceptance and opposition- which will inevitably fuel the next wave.
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Good comments; please attach names of authors to your page ciations for the sake of clarity, and differentiation. the style that developed in opposition to Mannerism is called Baroque. How would you characterize that style, and its departures from Mannerism?
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that a lot of art before this didn't really reflect on social issues or the mood of the public of the time it was merely for personal reflection. For example, the Medici family commissioned the greats to paint for them because it reflected on their wealth and status. Mannerism reflected the changes in the time period and how the people felt during that time.
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