Tour: Mannerism

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Overview

The term mannerism describes the style of the paintings and bronze sculpture on this tour. Derived from the Italian maniera, meaning simply “style,” mannerism is sometimes defined as the “stylish style” for its emphasis on self-conscious artifice over realistic depiction. The sixteenth-century artist and critic Vasari—himself a mannerist—believed that excellence in painting demanded refinement, richness of invention, and virtuoso technique, criteria that emphasized the artist’s intellect. More important than his carefully recreated observation of nature was the artist’s mental conception and its elaboration. This intellectual bias was, in part, a natural consequence of the artist’s new status in society. No longer regarded as craftsmen, painters and sculptors took their place with scholars, poets, and humanists in a climate that fostered an appreciation for elegance, complexity, and even precocity.

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Captions

1.
1	Andrea del Sarto, Charity, before 1530
2	Rosso Fiorentino, Portrait of a Man, early 1520s
3	Jacopino del Conte, Madonna and Child with Saint Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist, c. 1535
4	Perino del Vaga, The Nativity, 1534
5	Pontormo, Monsignor della Casa, probably 1541/1544
6	Agnolo Bronzino, The Holy Family, c. 1527/1528
2.
7	Agnolo Bronzino, A Young Woman and Her Little Boy, c. 1540
8	Adriaen de Vries, Empire Triumphant over Avarice, 1610