Art History 101: The Late Renaissance and Mannerism
Friday December 19, 2003
This week's article strives not to whine overmuch about the letdown one (namely, me) might feel when considering post-High Renaissance art. No, it wasn't the end of the world. No, it wasn't horrible art. Yes, there were mitigating circumstances surrounding Mannerism, like the Church's Zero Tolerance policies and an art-unfriendly Holy Roman Emperor. Still, it seems as if Late Renaissance artists in Italy were...oh...sort of "mailing it in" and not really trying. It's probably just me being irritable, though.
Comments
I liked the Mannerist painting that you chose as your illustration enough to write a novel imagining how it was created in Florence in 1544-5; see the publisher’s page at:
http://www.twentyfirstcenturypublishers.com/index.asp?PageID=496