Renaissance to Mannerism

1. Renaissance to Mannerism

2. Renaissance vs Mannerism
Renaissance (1400-1520)
rinascita = Rebirth
Mannerism (1520-1600)
manierismo, maniera = manner, style
Style order: symmetry, proportion, balance
Normal, supernormal, ideal;
Appeal to the universal
Abnormal or abnormal;
Exploits strangeness of subject,
uncontrolled emotion,
Disturbed balance and proportion
Zigzag or spiral movement--restlessness
Historical events Exploration of new continents
and scientific research
1517- Reformation replaced the study of
God with the study of human being
Rome was sacked by the Germans and
Spaniards
The church lost its authority during the
Reformation
Human Representation Ideal Beauty Distorted bodies- figures in twisted in
unnecessary contrapposto (counterpoise).
Elongated or grossly muscular forms

3. Renaissance vs Mannerism
Comparing Paintings

4. Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist
• The figures are all shown with absolutely perfect proportions,
reflecting a Renaissance obsession with Classical ideas about
beauty from symmetry
• Mary and St. Anne are idealized, but obviously very realistic,
shown with incredible emotion and natural poses
• And as for the composition itself, Leonardo painted this to reflect
the shape of a triangle. All of the figures work together to create
kind of a pyramid
• This creates a grounded, calm, rational sense that draws the
viewer's eyes into the piece.
- Renaissance painting by Leonardo da Vinci.

5. Madonna with the Long Neck
• It is a masterpiece of skill, showing a beautiful scene of intimate emotion
between mother and child, but quite different from Leonardo's.
• Mary with long neck, is no longer shown in perfect classical proportions.
• Mannerist painters stressed the elegance and grace of subjects and
compositions over a purely realistic appearance.
• The composition of this piece is also different. Whereas Leonardo's was
grounded and centered, Parmigianino's is off-center, drawing the eye
upward in an almost spiraling motion.
• The dead center of the painting is the relatively flat space of Mary's
stomach, not Christ.
• Mannerists were rebels.
- Mannerism painting by Parmigianino

6. Renaissance vs Mannerism
Comparing Architecture and Sculpture

7. Pietà
• Grounded, calm, rational, and carved with the rare skill that only
Michelangelo could master.
• Michelangelo's sculpture was meant to be appreciated from one single
viewpoint
- Renaissance Sculpture by Michelangelo

8. Abduction of a Sabine Woman
• Prominent is the spiraling, upwards motion
• To understand Giovanni's sculpture, you have to walk all the way around
it, observing it from multiple viewpoints
• Mannerism rejected the formality of the Renaissance for spiraling and
often whimsical forms.
- Mannerism sculpture by Giovanni da Bologna

9. Renaissance - Painting Techniques
• Chiaroscuro
The term chiaroscuro comes from the Italian words chiaro, meaning bright or light, and oscuro,
which means dark. Artists use the chiaroscuro method of painting shadows and a single light source, to
make photorealistic paintings with value and depth.
In Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist, Da Vinci used charcoal or black chalk to sketch
the subjects on brown tinted paper. He created the illusion of shadows (in the folds of their clothing, on
their faces and necks, etc.) by gradually building up lighter and lighter layers of chalk.
• Sfumato
The word sfumato comes from the Italian word fumo (meaning "smoke", "fume"). It is a
renaissance painting technique for softening the transition between colours, mimicking an area
beyond what the human eye is focusing on, or the out-of-focus plane.
Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most famous examples of the sfumato
technique in action, particularly around the subject's face. In the close-up below, notice the soft
transitions between light and dark tones and the lack of hard edges. The result is a very smooth
appearance.

10. Renaissance - Painting Techniques
• Cangiante
The term Cangiante comes from the Italian words cangiare, meaning “to
change”. Cangiante is characterized by a change in color necessitated by an original color's darkness
or lightness limitation. For example, when painting shadows on a yellow object, the artist may use a
red color simply because the yellow paint cannot be made dark enough.
The greatest practitioner of the cangiante technique was Michelangelo, especially in
many parts of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. For example, in the image of the prophet Daniel, a
transition from green to yellow is evident in the subject's robes.
• Unione
Unione is similar to sfumato, but is more useful for the edges of chiaroscuro, where
vibrant colors are involved. As with chiaroscuro, unione conveys the contrasts, and as sfumato it
strives for harmony and unity, but also for coloristic richness. Unione is softer than chiaroscuro in the
search for the right tonal key. There should be the harmony between light and dark, without the
excesses and accentuation of a chiaroscuro mode
Unione was developed by Raphael. Raphael's La belle jardinière on the left here shows
the use of unione

11. Michelangelo's "David“ & Chamundaraya’s "Bahubali”
Michelangelo's "David" Gommateshwara / Bahuballi
Completed 1504 CE 983 CE
Period Italian Renaissance Western Ganga Dynasty
Artist Michelangelo Indian artisians
Height 17 feet 57 feet
Material Marble statue Single block of granite
Located Palazzo Vecchio (Original location)
Galleria dell'Accademia (Current),
Florence, Italy
Vindhyagiri hill at Shravanabelagola
Karnataka, India
Pose Contrapposto meditative, kayotsarga (standing still)
Description Depicts a strong, confident young
man. In its muscular nudity,
embodies the antique ideal of the
athletic male. Shows being in a
relaxed pose with a slingshot over
his shoulder. Knit brow shows him
preparing psychologically for the
battle ahead of him with Goliath
World’s tallest monolithic statue, depicts the
prolonged meditation of Bahubali. The
motionless contemplation in kayotsarga
(standing still) posture led to the growth of
climbing vines around his legs. The nude
image of Gommateshwara has curly hair
ringlets, large ears and calm facial expression.
The eyes are open as if he is viewing the world
with detachment