What is the meaning of Mannerism? Concept, Definition of Mannerism

Definition of Mannerism

1 Meaning of Mannerism

Perhaps one of the most underrated artistic styles, mannerism took place in Western Europe in the second half of the 16th century, when the main elements of the Renaissance began to enter in crisis. While it still held many of the most important characteristics of Renaissance art, mannerism meant a progressive abandonment of the proportion of the figures, from the spatial perspective, the use of clear and well defined lines and sweet and measured expressions of Renaissance characters. For many experts, the Mannerism is a transition period between Renaissance art and the Baroque art of the following centuries.
The name of Mannerism has to do with the idea that the painters of this period slowly began to paint "their way", according to the General rules of painting but performing their sketches and that observed the reality of unique and personal way. In many cases, the term mannerism was used with certain derogatory tone to be considered that the painters of this style did not represent reality as this should be represented, if not that inaccurate copies of Renaissance authors.
Mannerism is no doubt an artistic style in itself and, as such, not to be equated with each other since much of its characteristic elements had a raison d ' être. As with all architectural styles, mannerism represented a period of crisis not only artistic but also at the social and political level in which the disorder, the hopelessness, doubt the Renaissance values and different conflicts implementation contributed to produce an altered representation of reality.
For Mannerism ceased to be important to portray what is observed in real and proper way. In this sense, this artistic style would resort to the use of inappropriate colours or strangers (especially green and yellow) for the skin, or colors very highlighted in the whole of the work, disarrayed proportions returning to people unevenly high and skinny, clearly suffering expressions and some violence in the subject matter of the works.
Some of the painters and most famous Mannerist artists were El Greco, Tintoretto, Arcimboldo, Vasari, Fiorentino, and some of the latest works of Miguel Ángel in which the characteristic elements of Renaissance art began to be abandoned.

2. Definition of Mannerism

Mannerism ("it maniera", fashion or style similar to another, in the manner of another artist, but giving them their own mark) appears at the end of the 16th century, in Western Europe, as an expression of the late Renaissance, but critically, because of the religious, political and economic crisis, being based "or the way of" Renaissance as Miguel Ángelthat began to use the same technical mannerists and offenders, with the dome of St. Peter's in Rome or the chapel of the Medici. They are his representatives, the architects of the school of Venice, Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) who created his own style, combining classical forms with ornamentation and Giacomo Della Porta (1540-1602).
Sculptural forms, acquire drama, there is tension in the movements, positions complicated; and creative freedom removes the dependence measures, space and formats; or releasing sensitive truth, of reality, to express their own views. Cold, artificial and contrasting colors are used in painting
Other examples of Mannerism, Benvenuto Cellini with his sculpture made of bronze, between 1545 and 1554, "Perseus", where the hero appears standing over Medusa, his monstrous victim, whose head, taken from the hair holds in his left hand; and El Greco in painting with the "burial of the count of Orgaz" (1541-1614) with the representation of earthly death down, and the more there at the top of the box, with strident colors, not natural lighting, to focus on what the artist you are interested in highlighting. Figures are elongated, mobile, twisted and cut off on the sides, with nude at the top, all features that correspond to Mannerism. The Baroque style, then, happened in the 17TH century.