Mannerism

To understand the essence of the style, we should realize what does "cutesy pose" mean. This is an unnatural, far-fetched pose a person takes in order to draw attention to his originality, unusual inner world and other qualities; it is his whim or simply fear of being unnoticed. Actually, this is the characteristic feature of Mannerism: the characters on the canvases take those very cutesy poses. To some extent, this art of posing has been adopted by modern models, which are shot for fashion stories of expensive glossy magazines.

Key features of mannerism

Cutesy poses, pomposity, broken lines, unusual interiors in paintings, a special aristocratic whiteness of bodies, faces seem languid, often nudity or exotic clothes on the subjects — these are the features of this style. The composition, as a rule, is oversaturated with a lot of subjects or details requiring attention. The figures are elongated, the proportions are slightly deformed, the postures are tense, the colour scheme is quite contrasting, with many fragments of juicy colours.

Why did it appear?

The fine "manners" on the painted canvases arose among the followers of Leonardo da Vinci, and they reigned in the privileged circles of Italy by the middle of the 16th century. The painters travelled through Europe quickly spreading the "new fashion" to France, Spain, and Germany. At that time, the ideals of the Renaissance

The Renaissance is the period that began around the 14th century and ended at the late 16th century, traditionally associated primarily with the Italian region. The ideas and images of the Renaissance largely determined the aesthetic ideals of modern man, his sense of harmony, measure and beauty. Read more

already began to lose their relevance. That was the period when the harmony of spiritual and physical beauty, which had been praised in the Renaissance

The Renaissance is the period that began around the 14th century and ended at the late 16th century, traditionally associated primarily with the Italian region. The ideas and images of the Renaissance largely determined the aesthetic ideals of modern man, his sense of harmony, measure and beauty. Read more

, was lost; the artists began to search for new methods and techniques. Mannerism was the beginning of a new era in art. That was a pretentious court style. Art did not seek to be understandable and life-affirming. Artists wanted to show that painting was not for everyone, but only for the elite, so there were a lot of hidden symbols in the paintings that could not be understood without a specific knowledge.
By the way, the era of mannerism was a favourable time for architecture — the creators had more opportunities to change forms, saturate space. Mannerism in architecture is quite expressive. Surrounded by such buildings, a person feels certain restlessness, randomness, but still wants to watch the buildings. The iconic structure of the Mannerist era is the Laurentian Library in Florence, designed by Michelangelo.

Famous artist of the style

Francesco Parmigianino, Jacopo Pontormo, Giovanni Battista Naldini, Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Bronzino, Rosso Fiorentino, Francesco Salviati, Orazio Gentileschi. Partly the influence of Mannerism is also traced in the works by Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian and El Greco.

Fine kettle of fish!

In a broad sense, the art of Venetian glass-making can also be called Mannerism! They developed a similar philosophy: to create something ornate, sophisticated, and so that no one would guess how it was done. Mannerists created beautiful mysterious ornate masterpieces without a specific purpose. Their art did not educate, did not nourish, did not adorn — it gave rise to questions and allowed viewers to show their intellect, to emphasize their own uniqueness.