Mannerist Style Characteristics
 Elongated
bodies or body parts
 Paintings appear to be stretched out
 Focus on spiritual aspect of art
 Meant mainly for the elite and wealthy,
not meant for the general public
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
KEY IMAGE
p 252
and this column is for what???
Parmagianino,
Madonna with
the Long
Quite a crowd
Neck,
1534-40
Little guy
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
Jacopo Pontormo
Descent from the Cross
1525-28
11’ x 6.5’ oil on wood
Mannerism
 Allegory with Venus
and Cupid
 1546
 Florence, Italy
 Artist: Agnolo Bronzino
 Court painter for
Cosimo I de Medici
 Mannerism was meant
for nobility to enjoy not
the general public
 Space full of figures
 Shows an oddly erotic
encounter
 Bodies elongated and
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
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 of Venice
ca. 1585
oil on canvas
approximately 29 ft. 8 in. x 19 ft.
Ceilings became the perfect place for illusion
paintings
Domenikos
Theotokopoulos (El Greco)
 The
most important Spanish artist of
this period was Greek.
 1541 – 1614.
 He deliberately distorts & elongates
his figures, and seats them in a lurid,
unearthly atmosphere.
 He uses an agitated, flickering light.
 He ignores the rules of perspective,
and heightens the effect by areas
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
Christ in
Agony
on the
Cross
1600s
El Greco
Portrait of a
Cardinal
1600
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
El Greco’s, The Burial of Count
Orgaz, 1586-1588
El Greco’s, The Burial of Count
Orgaz, 1586-1588 (details)
El Greco’s, The
Burial of Count
Orgaz, 15781580
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
Mannerism
 Vestibule
of Laurentian
Library
 1524 – 1559
 Florence, Italy
 Artists: Michelangelo,
Vasari & Ammanati
 Higher than long or
wide
 Niches taper up –
smaller at bottom than
top
 Same with pilasters,
columns set into the
wall
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
Giacomo della Porta
façade of Il Gesù
Rome, Italy
ca. 1575-1584
Still in basic Renaissance style – just longer
than necessary
Palladio
Scala Ovata
Basilica
Palladio
Teatro Olimpico
San Giorgio
Maggiore
Mannerism in music
Extreme chromaticism
Ex: Prophetiae Sibyllarum, by Orlando de Lassus, c.
1550
Summary – Northern and Late
Renaissance
• RELIGION/POLITICS – Reformation; much
political & religious violence
• IDEAS – a skeptical Humanism
• ART – a realism of everyday life: PORTRAITS,
LANDSCAPES; oil painting, Mannerism
• MUSIC – conservative perfection (Palestrina) &
new approaches (madrigals)