Mannerism – Late Renaissance
Mannerist Style Characteristics
 Elongated bodies or body parts
 Paintings appear to be stretched out
 Focus on spiritual aspect of art
Mannerism
 Madonna with the Long Neck
 1534 – 1540
 Florence, Italy
 Artist: Parmagianino
 Mannerist style preferred
distorted figures; elongated;
artificial
 Figures crowded into left side –
viewer is drawn to different
areas of painting
 Not just one focus
Jacopo da Pontormo
Descent from the Cross
Capponi Chapel, Santa Felicità, Florence, Italy
1525-1528
oil on wood
10 ft. 3 in. x 6 ft. 6 in.
Considered his masterpiece
Mannerism
 Allegory with Venus and Cupid
 1546
 Florence, Italy
 Artist: Agnolo Bronzino
 Court painter for Cosimo I de
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Medici
Mannerism was meant for
nobility to enjoy not the general
public
Space full of figures
Shows an oddly erotic
encounter
Bodies elongated and distorted
Mannerism
 Last Supper
 1592 – 1594
 Venice, Italy
 Artist: Tintoretto
 If it weren’t for the halo,
Jesus would be hard to find
 Perspective leads away
from Christ
 Darker version
 Judas in traditional spot on
opposite side of table
Paolo Veronese
Christ in the House of Levi
1573
oil on canvas
18 ft. 6 in. x 42 ft. 6 in.
The Venetian use of blue is still key in Mannerism – had
to change name of painting
Paolo Veronese
Triumph ofVenice
ca. 1585
oil on canvas
approximately 29 ft. 8 in. x 19 ft.
Ceilings became the perfect place for illusion paintings
El Greco
(Domenikos Theotokopoulous)
Mary Magdalene in Penitence
1577
oil on canvas
42 1/2 x 39 7/8 in.
El Greco was born in Greece, studied in Italy and painted
in Spain – as such he is a unique painter in many ways
El Greco
(Domenikos Theotokopoulous)
View of Toledo
1586
oil on canvas
47 3/4 x 42 3/4 in.
The most famous of the mannerist painters
Mannerism
 The Burial of Count Orgaz
 1586
 Toledo, Spain
 Artist: El Greco
 His masterpiece
 Local aristocracy attends at
bottom as Christ and Saints
welcome his soul at the top
 Elongated forms are typical
Mannerism
 Saltcellar of Francis I
 1539 – 1543
 Paris, France
 Artist: Benvenuto Cellini
 An ornamental salt and pepper
holder for the king of France
 Salt is represented by the sea
and pepper by the earth
 Gold and enamel
Mannerism
 Perseus
 1545 – 1554
 Florence, Italy
 Artist: Cellini
 Blood drips from the
beheaded Medusa as
Perseus holds it up
triumphantly
 A masterpiece of Mannerist
art
Giovanni Bologna (Jean de Boulogne). Rape of the Sabine
Women. 1579-83.
Height: 13’ 5-1/2”.
Mannerism
 Vestibule of Laurentian Library
 1524 – 1559
 Florence, Italy
 Artists: Michelangelo, Vasari &
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Ammanati
Higher than long or wide
Niches taper up – smaller at
bottom than top
Same with pilasters, columns set
into the wall
3 separate sets of steps but 1
doorway
Mannerism
 Villa Rotunda
 1567 – 1570
 Vicenza, Italy
 Artist: Palladio
 Symmetry was crucial to
Palladio, even the gardens
are symmetrical
 All 4 sides are identical
 Monticello in Virginia,
Jefferson’s home was based
in this building
Giacomo della Porta
façade of Il Gesù
Rome, Italy
ca. 1575-1584
Still in basic Renaissance style – just longer than
necessary
Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera. The Escorial:
aerial view. 1563-84.
The end
Next lecture….
Northern Renaissance