Mannerism (pt. 3)

The real name of the artist who became known as El Greco ("The Greek") was Domeriko Theotocopoulos.  His art style used lots of emotion and movement.  After moving to Italy from his native home in Greece, he studied the works of his predecessors, but of course added his own personal touch as well.  Compare his Pietà with Titian's Entombment (Titian on top; El Greco below).

El Greco spent the latter half of his life in Toledo, Spain.  In 1580 he was commissioned by King Philip II of Spain to paint The Martyrdom of St. Maurice and the Theban Legion.  When the king saw the finished product, he thought it was awful and rejected it.

It shows the fate of Maurice and his soldiers, who were (according to tradition) both loyal subjects to the pagan Roman emperor and Christian believers.  Maurice and his soldiers refused to worship pagan deities.  Maurice is explaining the situation to his officers in the foreground; on the left, his men are being stripped naked and beheaded; and above, in Heaven, angels await the martyrs with laurels.

A few years later, the Church of St. Tomé in Toledo hired El Greco to paint the burial of a man who died two hundred years prior.  This massive painting took two years, and the artist considered it his greatest work.

It is The Burial of Count Orgaz.  When the count, a very religious man, died, it was said that St. Stephan and St. Augustine buried him with their own hands.  After the count's death, the villagers would frequently attend the Church of St. Tomé to pay homage to their beloved count; but after a while, the villagers stopped coming.  El Greco's painting was a reminder to the villagers and to all who looked at it that the count ought still to be commemorated.

The painting almost has two halves.  The horizontal line of heads divides Heaven and earth.  The priest looks up to Heaven, where Christ and the angels await the count's arrival.  The young boy on the left points to the saints and introduces you to the scene, and this young boy is none other than El Greco's son.  (A paper coming out of his pocket notes his birth-date).  And the person above St. Stephan, waving at the viewer, could be the artist himself.

Mannerism (pt. 2)

Another painting by the artist Tintoretto shows the Mannerist style.  This is the Presentation of the Virgin.

Young Mary climbs solemnly up the stairs to the temple, and although she is the most important figure of the painting, she is small.  The artist intended this to produce excitement in the viewer.  This is a dramatic moment being depicted, and tons of things are exaggerated, as seen in the elongated figures, dramatic gestures, odd perspective, and strange lighting.  It looks realistic enough, but Mannerism exaggerates and deforms (slightly) its figures and subject matter.  It was the reaction to the harmonious Classicism and idealized naturalism of High Renaissance art, concerning itself much with solving intricate artistic problems, such as portraying nudes in complex poses, different, heavily-contrasted lighting styles, etc.  Renaissance art preferred balance and perfection (like the Greeks); Mannerism took to imbalance and an overly exaggerated (almost to the degree of mockery) version of Renaissance ideals.  Surmise from it what you will, and remember that the time of the Reformation was a time of confusion and chaos in the church.  Religious paintings are treated differently, as you can clearly see.

This famous statue of the god Mercury by Giambologna shows the Mannerist style of creating difficult poses that were not natural.  The figures are graceful but disproportionate.

Mannerism (pt. 1)

When Raphael painted the Alba Madonna c. 1510, Italy was at peace in theocracy, but in just a few decades the religious unity of Western Christendom was shattered.  The Protestant Reformation, led by Martin Luther, officially began in 1517 with the publication of Luther's 95 Theses.  The tension, unrest, and disorder in Rome led to an art style known as Mannerism, which was a deliberate revolt by artists against the goals of the Renaissance.  Mannerism tried to achieve imbalance and restlessness.  Humans had impossible poses and looked supernaturally graceful.  The quintessential example of this is Parmigianino's Madonna with the Long Neck, painted around 1535 (yeah, that's its real title).

The Madonna is enormous and looks calm even though her Child is about to fall.  Christ's proportions are unnatural, and He looks quite pale with His arms spread in the position of crucifixion.  The crowd on the left seems uninterested in the baby Jesus, and Mary herself seems unconcerned with Christ (perhaps a critique of the church for its increasing worldliness).  The background of the painting is quite confusing.  Is the setting interior or exterior?  (It would appear to be both).  The background on the right is spacious, whereas the foreground is crowded.  The man in the background holding the scroll is unidentified.