Moses C. Rivera

AGE OF MANNERISM

The term mannerism comes from the Italian term maniera meaning style or manner. The term mannerism was originally a derogatory term that implies a kind of tasteless perversion. This was because the mannerists were artists who took details from earlier art works and combined them with their own style to have new art. This era is preceded by the renaissance and followed by the Baroque.

Throughout the ages, we find that the arts and humanities had a progressive development from the Pre-Historic to Classical to Medieval and finding its peak in the Renaissance. The Renaissance can truly be called the peak of Arts and Humanities because majority of the art works and artists that we know today came from this era. The age of mannerism was an era when artists were trying to surpass the artists of the renaissance by taking some details from earlier art works and combining them with their own.In the area of fine arts some notable artists would be:

Tintoretto 1518-1594, Venice El Greco 1541-1614, A greek born in Crete; lived in Toledo, Spain. Corregio 1494-1534, Parma Bronzino 1502-1572, Florence Veronese 1528-1588, Venice Brueghel 1525-1569, Antwerp and BrusselsTintoretto was noted for his dynamic and powerful paintings while El Greco was known for the jagged and sharp edges of his paintings. Corregio on the other hand was known as a melancholic and introvert character and it is hard to identify a stylistic link between his paintings. Bronzino was well known for his portraits that have stiff unyielding figures and staring eyes while Veronese was known for his trompe loeil (fool the eye) tricks. Veronese is well known for his works at Villa Barbaro. Brueghel was another famous painter of this era and what makes him distinct is his choice of subject. He painted scenes from peasant life and pointed the evils of society often brutally through his works. Two of his noted works are the parable of the blind and the fall of icarus.In the field of Sculpture and Architecture, some famous artists would be: Cellini 1500-1571 Palladio 1508-1580Cellini was a master craftsman in bronze and gold and was innovative in trying out things that his contemporaries thought could not be carried out. Palladio was known as the great master of domestic architecture of Vicenza and built many villas for the wealthy. Some of his notable works are Villa Rotonda and Villa Barbaro, both are still in existence up to this day.

In Music, some notable names are: Palestrina, Victoria, Lassus, Marenzio, and Zarlino. Remarkable developments in music during this era were the a cappela, harmony, Opera and Oratorio. The tendency to look for something different and new and unusual was also apparent in the literature of this age. The development of essais or essays was strong during this age as well as plays. The greateness of play during this time were measured in terms of ironies called paradox.Some noteworthy names were: Cervantes, Shakespeare and Montaigne. Significant works of this era were: King Lear and Don Quixote.