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 Not just one focus

Parmagianino, Madonna with the Long Neck, 1534-40 KEY IMAGE p 252 Parmagianino, Madonna with the Long Neck, 1534-40 and this column is for what??? Quite a crowd Little guy

Capponi Chapel, Santa Felicità, Florence, Italy 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 Slide concept by Anthony F. D'Ascoli FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY For publication, reproduction or transmission of images, please contact individual artists, estates, photographers and exhibiting institutions for permissions and rights.

Jacopo Pontormo Descent from the Cross 1525-28 11’ x 6.5’ oil on wood The Deposition can perhaps justly be described as the artist's masterpiece. The compositional idea is extravagant and totally unprecedented: an inextricable knot of figures and drapes that pivots around the bewildered youth in the foreground and culminates above in the two lightly hovering figures emerging from vague background. This complicated bunch of forms arranged in the shape of an upturned pyramid defies any attempt at a rational exploration or identification of planes. The compositional complexity is accompanied by a significant and probably deliberate ambiguity in the representation of the subject, which may be interpreted as halfway between the theme of the Deposition and that of the Pietà or Lamentation over the Dead Christ. The painting appears to represent the moment in which the body of Christ, having been taken down from the cross, has just been removed from the mother's lap. The Virgin, visibly distraught, and perhaps on the point of fainting, still glazes longingly towards her Son, and gestures with her right arm in the same direction. In the centre of the painting, the moment of the separation is underlined by the subtle contact of Mary's legs with those of Christ, now freed from his Mother's last pathetic embrace. The twisted body of Christ is reminiscent of Michelangelo's Vatican Pietà (1498). An intense spiritual participation in the grief of the event profoundly affects the expressions and attitudes of all the figures present, even that of the woman turned away from the onlooker, probably Mary Magdalene, who communicates her anguished psychological condition by reaching out sympathetically towards the swooning body of the Virgin. Some scholars have interpreted the two young figures holding up the deceased's body as angels in the act of drawing Christ away from the main group and leading him finally into the arms of his Father. The general direction of the movement is, in fact, a rising one, and is created by the ethereal quality of the weightless figures, and their slow, almost dance-like rhythm. The two presumed angelic presences, moreover, seem to be unaffected by the weight of the lifeless body, and the figure in the foreground appears to be in the act of raising himself up by lightly pressing down on the front part of his foot. The intricately connected group of figures, involved in a highly dramatic atmosphere, takes on the appearance of a rich frieze in the harmony of highly refined colour tones of pinks, blues and greens. The transparent shadows do not annul the colours, but actually become them, in the flesh tones invested with subtle shades of pink and green. The cloaked man wearing a strange hat, almost imperceptible against the background of the painting behind the arm of the Virgin, may possibly be the artist himself. Staring at something beyond the confines of the painting and looking as though he were about to leave the pictorial space, he presents us with this complex and refined decoration of colours, forms.

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 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

Christ in the House of Levi Slide concept by Anthony F. D'Ascoli FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY For publication, reproduction or transmission of images, please contact individual artists, estates, photographers and exhibiting institutions for permissions and rights. 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

Slide concept by Anthony F Slide concept by Anthony F. D'Ascoli FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY For publication, reproduction or transmission of images, please contact individual artists, estates, photographers and exhibiting institutions for permissions and rights.

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 Slide concept by Anthony F. D'Ascoli FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY For publication, reproduction or transmission of images, please contact individual artists, estates, photographers and exhibiting institutions for permissions and rights.

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 of brilliant color. His works were a fitting expression of the Spanish Counter-Reformation.

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 Slide concept by Anthony F. D'Ascoli FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY For publication, reproduction or transmission of images, please contact individual artists, estates, photographers and exhibiting institutions for permissions and rights.

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 Slide concept by Anthony F. D'Ascoli FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY For publication, reproduction or transmission of images, please contact individual artists, estates, photographers and exhibiting institutions for permissions and rights.

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, 1578-1580

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 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 Slide concept by Anthony F. D'Ascoli FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY For publication, reproduction or transmission of images, please contact individual artists, estates, photographers and exhibiting institutions for permissions and rights.

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)