Mannerism A style in the arts originating in Italy during
the 16th century. Deriving its name from the Italian word
maniera (manner), the movement developed first in Rome
and Florence in the wake of the High Renaissance around
- Mannerism extended to all branches of the arts and
depended chiefly upon the exaggeration of such Renais-
sance features as the use of classical motifs and technical
virtuosity. Its effect is one of extreme elegance and sophis-
tication. In architecture the chief exponent in the man-
nerist style was GIULIO ROMANO, who was a pupil of
RAPHAELand introduced numerous distinctive devices.
Mannerist architects in Florence included VASARIand AM-
MANATI; those in northern Europe included de VRIES, Cor-
nelis BOS, and Cornelis FLORIS.
In painting MICHELANGELOand others developed the
ideas of Raphael and executed many notable works distin-
guished by distortions of scale, strong colors, and elon-
gated human figures. Italian artists in the mannerist style
included PONTORMO, PARMIGIANINO, Vasari, TINTORETTO,
and BRONZINO, whose allegory Venus, Cupid, Folly, and
Time (1546; National Gallery, London) exemplifies the
movement’s salient characteristics. From Italy the style
was exported to France, where it was used at FON-
TAINEBLEAUby CELLINIand others, and the Netherlands,
where artists included Pieter COECKE VAN AELST, Hendrick
GOLTZIUS, and Antonio MORO. Other masters associated
with mannerist art include El GRECO, Pieter BRUEGHELthe
Elder, and Albrecht ALTDORFER.
In the field of sculpture Mannerism achieved its high-
est expression in the bronze figures of GIAMBOLOGNA, who
based his work largely on the late figures of Michelangelo.
Cellini and Ammanati were the other most significant ex-
ponents. Eventually the style fell from fashion and by
1660 it had been absorbed by the BAROQUE. Although the
term “mannerist” was later used as a derogatory phrase
suggestive of artistic decadence, the movement has since
been recognized as an important development in its own
right.
Further reading: John F. Hayward, Virtuoso Gold-
smiths and the Triumph of Mannerism, 1540–1620 (London:
Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1976); Linda Murray, The High Re-
naissance and Mannerism: Italy, the North, and Spain,
1500–1600 (London: Thames & Hudson and New York:
Oxford University Press, 1977).Manrique, Jorge (1440–1479) Spanish poet and soldier
Born at Paredes de Nava, the son of a famous general, Ro-
drigo Manrique, count of Paredes and grand master of the
military Order of Santiago, Manrique was also the grand-
nephew of SANTILLANA. Like his father he was a profes-
sional soldier, fighting for the Castilian Infante Don
Alfonso (against his half-brother Henry IV) and later for
Alfonso’s sister Isabella. He was killed in battle at Cala-
trava. The author of about 50 lyric poems, he is remem-
bered for a longer elegy, Las coplas de Jorge Manrique por la
muerte de su padre (Stanzas of Jorge Manrique for the death
of his father; 1476). The 43 coplas (12-line stanzas in a pat-
tern of eight and four-syllable lines known as pie que-
brado) are an expression of grief but move from a
conventional medieval and Christian emphasis on the
brevity and vanity of human life to a more humanistic cel-
ebration of Count Rodrigo’s character and worldly
achievements.Mantegna, Andrea (1431–1506) Italian painter and
engraver
Born near Vicenza, Mantegna served his apprenticeship
in Padua from 1441 as the pupil and adopted son of the
archaeologist-artist Francesco SQUARCIONE. His earliest
works were dominated by the influence of DONATELLO,
who also worked in Padua, and by the archaeological de-
tail that also characterizes many of his later paintings.22998 8 MMaannnneerriissmmMannerismA detail from Madonna dal collo lungo (The
Madonna of the long neck),painted in 1532 by Il
Parmigianino. The elongated figures and distorted scale are
characteristic of the mannerist style (Uffizi, Florence).
Photo AKG London/Erich Lessing