16TH CENTURY ART IN
ITALY
CHAPTER 20
TITIAN
Titian had a creative career during
which he produced splendid
religious, mythological, and portrait
paintings, original in conception and
vivid with color and movement
Titian, Penitent Mary Magdalen
1560s, Oil on canvas.
Titian, The Pesaro Altarpiece, 152226, canvas, San Maria Gloriosa dei
Frari, Venice
Titian. Venus of Urbino. 1538. Oil on canvas. Galleria degli Uffizi,
Florence, Italy. HIGH ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Portrait of Isabella d'Este
Titian, Portrait of Isabella d'Este,
1534-1536
Although she is shown as a young
woman, Isabella was 62 by the time
the work was painted. Titian had
originally painted a more aged
Isabella, but she was so displeased
with the picture that she made him
repaint it in an idealized form, so that
she looked forty years younger.
Her face and hands were given the
most attention, while her garment
fades into the background.
Titian. Bacchus and Ariadne. 1520-1522. Oil on canvas.
The National Gallery. HIGH ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Giorgione, The Pastoral Concert, 1509. HIGH ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Also attributed to Titian
Combines the Greek
idealism with a pastoral
(or “shepherd”) setting
Not intended to convey a
plot, but rather an idyllic,
romantic setting
The Tempest
Giorgione
1506
Oil on Canvas
32”x28”
Pope Julius II
 Laid the foundation for the new St.
Peter’s in Rome (designed originally
by Bramante)
 Commissioned Michelangelo to
create a painted ceiling for the Sistine
Chapel
 Commisioned Raphael to paint the
four hemicycles in the Stanza della
Signatura (the Pope’s apartment)
HIGH ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Tomb of Pope Julius II
HIGH ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Michelangelo, Moses
1513-1515
Commissioned by Pope Julius II as
part of his immense tomb, (which was
never completed as planned…
Julius used more funds to the building
of St. Peter’s)
Horns on head were traditionally
meant to be divine, but scripture may
have meant that Moses was “radiant”,
not “horned”.
Inspired by Greek Hellenistic
sculpture Laocoon & Sons
MANNERISM
MANNERISM
Period from High Renaissance (1520) to
Baroque (1590)
Comes from the Italian maniera, or
"style," in the sense of an artist's
characteristic "touch" or recognizable
"manner."
Elongated proportions
Intense contrast & lighting
Twisted poses
Curless’s Keywords: Busy, Dark,
Twisted, Shadows, Dramatic, Clouds,
Assymetrical
Parmigianino, Madonna with the
Long Neck, 1534-40.
MANNERISM
Examples of Mannerism
MANNERISM
Tintoretto, The Last Supper, 1592-94, Oil on Canvas.
MANNERISM
Rosso Fiorentino
(meaning "the Red Florentine" in
Italian)
Rosso Fiorentino. Deposition. 1521,
Oil on wood..
MANNERISM
Compare Fiorentino’s Deposition to Van der
Weyden’s Depostion…
MANNERISM
Rosso Fiorentino, Moses
Defending the Daughters of
Jethro, c1523 at the Uffizi Gallery,
Florence
MANNERISM
JACOPO DA PONTORMO
Born Jacopo Carucci in Pontormo
Jacopo Pontormo, Deposition from
the Cross, 1525-1528.
ALLEGORY
WITH VENUS
AND CHILD
Bronzino
Oil on Panel
1540s
58”x46”
MANNERISM
Il Gesu, 1550s. MANNERISM
MANNERIST
ARCHITECTURE
Went against the grain of
Renaissance Architecture by
using Classical forms in
illogical ways
This is mostly due to the style
being used only for secular
purposes
Symmetrical but highly
ornamental
Colossal order
“Blind Windows”
Il Gesu, 1550s. MANNERISM
MANNERISM
Il Gesu, 1550s. MANNERISM
MANNERISM
Il Gesu, 1550s. MANNERISM
MANNERISM
MANNERISM
San Giovani in Laterano (Mannerism)
MANNERISM
MANNERIST
SCULPTURE
This version of the Rape of the Sabine
Women has a vertical, spiraling composition
that displays figura serpentinata
(a twisting of the figures much like a serpent
or snake).
This statue depicts the story of how the
Roman men made peace with the
neighboring Sabines by abducting their
women to take back as wives and populate
Rome.
Giovanni Bologna, Rape of the Sabine
Women, 1574-82. MANNERISM
SALTCELLAR OF
KING FRANCIS I
OF FRANCE
Cellini
1540
Gold and enamel
MANNERISM
Mannerism in Review
Let’s recap MANNERISM:
1. Figures are elongated and
disproportionate
2. Asymmetrical (or even
unbalanced) compositions
3. Unusual light sources (often
unnatural or artificial)
4. Figura Serpentinata (Twisting
of the body poses)
Parmigianino, Madonna with the
Long Neck, 1534-40.
NOLI ME
TANGERE
Lavinia Fontana
1581
Oil on Canvas
48”x36”
SELF-PORTRAIT
Sofonisba Anguissola
Oil on parchment
205”x3.25”
1552