Mannerism facts for kids
Mannerism is a style of art that was created in the Late Renaissance period, from about 1520 until about 1600. The Mannerist style of painting or sculpture often shows figures that are "elongated" (made longer) and "distorted" (made into strange shapes"). The aim of the Mannerist artist was usually to make art that looked "elegant".
The Mannerist style began in Italy, where the artists were influenced by the figures that Michelangelo painted on the ceiling and in the "Last Judgement" in the Sistine Chapel. During the Renaissance, artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael had tried very hard to learn from nature, and to paint things in a way that was very realistic. These two famous painters both died around 1520. Many artists then decided that they were going to use the art of painting to "express themselves". They were not going to follow the rules of anatomy and perspective in the way that Leonardo and Raphael did. Mannerist paintings are often full of figures that seem to be twisting, writhing or fighting. The faces of the figures often show strong emotions such as sadness, fear or hatred.
Not all the painters who were working during the Mannerist period painted in the Mannerist style. Many artists continued to work in the style of the High Renaissance. Painters in the Mannerist style were Tintoretto, Jacopo Pontormo, Agnolo Bronzino, Parmigianino and Rosso Fiorentino. Giambologna and Benvenuti Cellini were Mannerist sculptors. Giulio Romano was a Mannerist architect.
Mannerism spread from Italy to France, Germany and Spain. One of the most famous Mannerist painters was El Greco who worked in Spain. Some other artists who worked in the Mannerist style are the French sculptor Jean Goujon, the Dutch painter Abraham Bloemaert and the German painter Bartolomeus Spranger. Possibly the strangest paintings from this time were by Giuseppe Arcimboldo who did pictures in which people's faces seem to be made from fruit, flowers, fire and even fish.
Gallery
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Parmigianino, The Madonna with the Long Neck
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Jacopo Pontormo, The Entombment
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El Greco, St Martin and the Beggar
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Tintoretto, Jesus in the House of Mary and Martha
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Cellini, Perseus with the head of Medusa
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Arcimboldo, Spring
Images for kids
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The Libyan Sibyl from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling
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Copy after lost original, Leonardo da Vinci's Battaglia di Anghiari, by Rubens
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The Statue of David, completed by Michelangelo in 1504, is one of the most renowned works of the Renaissance, role model for many other early Italian Mannerist sculptures.
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Pietro Francavilla, Apollo Victorious over the Python, 1591. The Walters Art Museum
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Town Hall in Zamość, Poland, designed by Bernardo Morando.
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Persee-florence.jpg
Benvenuto Cellini, Perseus with the head of Medusa, 1545–1554
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Giambologna, Samson Slaying a Philistine, about 1562
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Venus, c. 125; Marble, Roman; British Museum
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Rosso Fiorentino, Francois I Gallery, Château de Fontainebleau, France
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Giuseppe Arcimboldo, The Librarian, 1562, Skokloster Castle.
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Tintoretto, Last Supper
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Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Autumn, 1573, oil on canvas, Louvre Museum, Paris
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Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Vertumnus the god of seasons, 1591, Skokloster Castle
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Bronzino, Portrait of Bia de'Medici
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El Greco, Baptism
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One of the best examples of Mannerist architecture - Palazzo Te in Mantova, designed by Giulio Romano
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Giulio Romano, Pallazo Ducale in Mantova
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Own house of Giulio Romano in Mantova
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Baldassare Peruzzi, Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne in Rome
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Michelangelo, vestibule of Laurentian Library
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St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, Malta
