Mannerism is a term
which is used to describe art which is transitional between the High Renaissance
and Baroque periods. The Renaissance ends around 1550, and the Baroque begins
around 1600, so Mannerism takes place in the 50 years intervening. It is
sometimes difficult to differentiate from either, since both the High Renaissance
and the Baroque reflect a higher degree of drama and emotion than does the
early Renaissance. In general, Mannerist artists emulated the later works
of Michelangelo and Raphael, moving towards extreme drama and exaggerated
compositions. Sometimes this has an almost surreal, absurd effect, as in
the two images above. Both elongate and distort the figures, have irrational
compositions, and a confusing sense of space. There were some great masters
of the Mannerist period, however. My own personal favorites are the works
of Titian (who's earlier works might be described as High Renaissance),
Tintoretto (who was once Titian's student), and El Greco (a Greek artist
who completed most of his work in Toledo, Spain). These artists use the
exaggerated movement, dramatic compositions, and (in El Greco's case) figurative
distortion to their advantage.
