Frontispiece of the Codex Mendoza
Viceroyalty of New Spain.
c 1541-1542 CE. Pigment on paper.
The Codex’s frontispiece relates
information about the organization and
foundation of the Aztec capital,
Tenochtitlan, or the place of the prickly pear
cactus. Tenochtitlan was established in the
middle of Lake Texcoco in the Valley of
Mexico in 1325. Given that much of the
former Aztec capital is below modern-day
Mexico City, the Codex Mendoza
frontispiece corroborates other information
we have about the capital city and its
origins. For instance, it shows us a
schematic diagram of Tenochtitlan, with the
city divided into four parts by intersecting
blue-green undulating diagonals. The city
was made of canals, similar to the Italian
city of Venice, and was divided into four
quarters. The image displays the division of
the city and the canals running through it.
The division of the city into four parts was
intended to mirror the organization of the
universe, believed to be four parts aligned
with the four cardinal directions
(north, east, south, west).
MANNERISM & OTHER 16th CENTURY ART
MANNERISM & OTHER 16th CENTURY ART
Mosque of Selim II
Sinan (architect), Edirne, Turkey.
c 1568-1575 CE. Brick and stone.
The Selimiye Mosque, an Ottoman
mosque, was commissioned by Sultan
Selim II, and was built by an architect
named Mimar Sinan between 1569
and 1575. It was considered by Sinan
to be his masterpiece and is one of
the highest achievements of Islamic
architecture.
The mosque’s main structure consists
of a succession of 18 small domes
dominated by a huge central dome.
MANNERISM & OTHER 16th CENTURY ART
Mosque of Selim II
Sinan (architect), Edirne, Turkey.
c 1568-1575 CE. Brick and stone.
Beneath the main dome, which is
supported by eight columns placed
close to the walls—an innovation at
the time—is the sanctuary, a large
square space. Four tall, slender,
three-balconied minarets on the
structure’s corners contrast with the
mass of domes and half-domes.
The mosque forms an architectural
whole, with adjacent
complementary buildings, including
a school, a library, and a theological
college, now housing
archaeological and ethnographic
museums.
MANNERISM & OTHER 16th CENTURY ART
Mosque of Selim II
Sinan (architect), Edirne, Turkey.
c 1568-1575 CE. Brick and stone.
Beneath the main dome, which is
supported by eight columns placed
close to the walls—an innovation at
the time—is the sanctuary, a large
square space. Four tall, slender,
three-balconied minarets on the
structure’s corners contrast with the
mass of domes and half-domes.
The mosque forms an architectural
whole, with adjacent
complementary buildings, including
a school, a library, and a theological
college, now housing
archaeological and ethnographic
museums.
MANNERISM & OTHER 16th CENTURY ART
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
Keywords: Busy, Dark, Twisted, Shadows,
Dramatic, Clouds, Assymmetrical
Parmigianino, Madonna with the Long
Neck, 1534-40.
MANNERISM & OTHER 16th CENTURY ART
Mannerism
Compare Fiorentino’s Deposition to
Van der Weyden’s Depostion…
MANNERISM & OTHER 16th CENTURY ART
Mannerism
Jacopo da Pontormo
Born Jacopo Carucci in Pontormo
Jacopo Pontormo, Deposition from the
Cross, 1525-1528. MANNERISM
MANNERISM & OTHER 16th CENTURY ART
Mannerism
Jacopo Pontormo, Deposition from the
Cross (Entombment of Christ),
Oil on wood. 1525-1528. MANNERISM
This painting suggests a whirlwind of grief. They
inhabit a flattened space with bright colors. The
center of the composition droops down towards
the limp body of Jesus off center in the left.
Those lowering Christ appear to demand our
help in sustaining the weight of his twisted body.
No Cross is visible; the natural world itself also
appears to have nearly vanished: only a lonely
cloud exists as bright swathes of pink and blue
envelop the pallid, limp Christ. The Virgin, larger
than her counterparts, swoons sideways inviting
the support of those behind her; the Swoon of
the Virgin was a controversial moment at the
time. The assembly looks completely
interlocked, but ultimately, the most compelling
and empathic figure is the crouching man in the
foreground, whose expression mixes the weight
of the cadaver and the weight of melancholy.
MANNERISM & OTHER 16th CENTURY ART