Beth Art Assignment - Mannerism

Mannerism was an art style that focused on the human form, depicted in intricate poses and in exaggerated, not always realistic settings. The term mannerism was derived from the Italian word maniera, translated as "style." It developed in Florence and Rome between 1520 and 1600, as a style that rejected the balance of the Renaissance period in favor of a more emotional and distorted point of view. Paintings contained artificial color and unrealistic spatial proportions. Figures were often elongated and exaggerated, positioned in imaginative and complex poses. In Parmigianino's Madonna with the long neck, Mannerism is shown by elongated proportions, affected poses, and unclear perspective.