Late Renaissance or Mannerism in Art

Deposition Jacopo Pontormo c. 1528, oil on wood, 313 x 192 cm Cappella Capponi Santa Felicità, Florence

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Mannerism in art appears following the death of Raphael Sanzio in 1520, a new style that emerged in Florence and Rome. Focused on the human figure, Mannerism in art depicted forms in contorted poses with more emotional content, a somewhat disturbing unrest, an almost surreal feeling evident.

Rejecting the stability and classical ease of the High Renaissance, mannerism in art reflected the general turmoil in Europe present at the time with the sack of Rome in 1527, the Reformation, and new outbreaks of plague. Mannerism in art, gaining popularity in much of Europe and northern Italy, featured the use of distorted figures in complex, impossible poses, and strange artificial colors. Bridging the gap between the High Renaissance Art and the Baroque Art style of the 17th century, the style of Mannerism in art came to an end around 1600.

Brenda Harness, Art Historian

• Parmigianino, Mannerist from Parma
  
  Caught up in the turmoil of Renaissance Rome early in the 16th century, Italian Renaissance artist Parmigianino developed his own unique Mannerist style of painting.
• Agnolo Bronzino, Court Painter to Cosimo I de' Medici
  
  Italian Renaissance artist Agnolo Bronzino was court painter to Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
• Giulio Romano, Artistic Heir to the Divine Raphael
  
  Artistic heir to the divine Raphael after his death, Giulio Romano completed many of the Raphael's unfinished works but never reached the same heights as his master.
• The Outrageous Life of Benvenuto Cellini
  
  The outrageous life of Benvenuto Cellini, Italian Renaissance Mannerist goldsmith and sculptor, is chronicled in the artist's own autobiography.
• Jacopo Tintoretto Biography
  
  Working in the Mannerist style, Jacopo Tintoretto claimed his artistic style developed from the figure drawing style of Michelangelo and the color sense of Titian.
• Giuseppe Arcimboldo - Slightly Off Center
  
  Giuseppe Arcimboldo new style featured portraits of people not as we see them, but with rendered clumps of mammals, fish, vegetables and other natural objects.