Maximilian II, His Wife, and Three Children by Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Maximilian II, His Wife, and Three Children 1563 Mannerism
After Arcimboldo was appointed to the Habsburg Court he painted a port Maximilian II with his wife and children. It is an important work in Arcimboldo’s oeuvre as it illustrates the intermediate phase in the artist’s transition to the full Mannerist style.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo 1527-1593
Giuseppe Arcimboldo Mannerism Born: 1527, Milan, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 11 July 1593, Milan, Italy
Arcimboldo was a painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made from objects such as fruit, vegetables, fish, books, and flowers. However, he was also a conventional painter of portraits, including three Holy Roman Emperors, religious subjects, and exotic animals. Arcimboldo’s still-life portraits were intended as curiosities, whimsical in nature produced to amuse the court.
Four Seasons 1563-73 Mannerism Oil on canvas Louvre Museum, Paris, France
A series of four paintings “Four Seasons” is probably Arcimboldo’s most famous work. It is the epitome of the Mannerist style emphasising the close relationship between humanity and nature. Each portrait is representative of one of the seasons and is made up of objects that are characteristic of that time of year. Only Winter and Summer survive from the original series, however, Arcimboldo’s patron, Emperor Maximilian II, commissioned a second set in 1573 as a gift and it is that second set that remains intact
Giuseppe Arcimboldo 1527-1593
Giuseppe Arcimboldo Mannerism Born: 1527, Milan, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 11 July 1593, Milan, Italy
Arcimboldo was a painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made from objects such as fruit, vegetables, fish, books, and flowers. However, he was also a conventional painter of portraits, including three Holy Roman Emperors, religious subjects, and exotic animals. Arcimboldo’s still-life portraits were intended as curiosities, whimsical in nature produced to amuse the court.
Francisco de Zurbarán Baroque Born: 7 November 1598, Fuente de Cantos, Spain Nationality: Spanish Died: 27 August 1664, Madrid, Spain
Zurbarán occupied the role of Seville’s official painter between Velázquez and Murillo, forming the trinity of Seville painters. Most of his paintings were of Spain’s devotional religious style to which he added elements borrowed from Caravaggio. His painting was a unique blend of a direct approach to religious subjects with a penetrating spiritual aura. In his later career, he painted mythological scenes commissioned for Philip IV’s Buen Retiro palace in Madrid. After decorating a ceremonial ship presented to the king on behalf of Seville he fell out of favour and spent his last years living in poverty in Madrid.
Zurbarán had a well-equipped style to tackle portraiture and still life but his true vocation was in religious subjects. His somber approach to monastic Spanish Baroque elevated his work above many of his contemporaries by the fact he embodied saints, apostles, and friars with a rigid figurative modeling and a naturalistic refined simplicity.
Saint Serapion, 1628. Oil on canvas. Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Zurbarán became renowned for creating emotional effects by creating sharp contrasts between dark backgrounds and light foregrounds. A technique revealing not only the influence of Caravaggio but also the dramatic technique of tenebrism, the technique of depicting human shapes and facial features in shadow. Zurbarán was unique amongst his contemporaries, however, his take on his subject matter was still in keeping with the Counter-Reformation theology of 17th-century Spain.
Zurbarán, in his later works, placed his religious and mythological figures within the landscape. He was not a landscapist per se; however, his mature works show an affinity with the natural environment and a talented hand at rendering nature as part of a narrative feature. This strategy confirmed Zurbarán’s Counter-Reformation worldview that where the spiritual exists in the corporeal so the divine finds its expression in the natural world.
Zurbarán carried the storytelling legacy of the Baroque into his devotional paintings, his figures becoming more idealized, more mythical, and less realistic. This change in his art was not universally well received with some historians suggesting Zurbarán’s later works sacrificed their palpable aura of spirituality for sentimentality.
The youngest of six children, Zurbarán was born in a small Spanish town where his father was a merchant. Historians suggest Zurbarán displayed a talent for drawing from an early age and his family was willing to support his artistic pursuits. In 1614, arranged by his father, he entered a three-year apprenticeship in Seville under the guidance of Diaz de Villanueva.
Saint Francis Contemplating a Skull, 1633-35. Oil on canvas. Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
His early training had a long-lasting impact on the direction of Zurbarán’s art. He learned his craft in the execution of religiously themed works commissioned to decorate new ecclesiastical buildings. He tackled religious themes throughout his career, however, it is unclear if Zurbarán was in fact a man of devoted to faith.
In 1617 Zurbarán refused the opportunity to enter Seville’s city guild of painters after he completed his apprenticeship, instead opting to return home where he established a business as a painter in the town of Llerena. His business was successful; however, his personal life was beset with tragedy. Is first marriage, in 1617, to Maria, nine years his senior lasted only six years due to her premature death, leaving Zurbarán with three young children. The artist married Beatriz in 1625. Sadly, their only child died in infancy.
From early in his career Zurbarán obtained various important commissions including in 1626 a request for fourteen pictures for the Dominican Order in Seville. He moved to Seville and lived in the monastery with his assistants while completing the commission., and on the promise of further work, he relocated his family to the city permanently. Once settled in Seville, Zurbarán’s independent streak began to reveal itself. In 1630 he refused to sit the exam for admittance to the Seville Guild of Painters. His reputation, however, was enough that the City Council continued to support him as it was advantageous to have a painter of Zurbarán’s skill and vision working in Seville.
In the years that followed Zurbarán secured important commissions. While mostly religious in nature, he was invited to Madrid to decorate the Great Hall of the royal palace and worked on mythological paintings analogous to the King’s glory. The ebb and flow of artistic success combined with personal tragedy continued to have an effect on Zurbarán. Political turmoil in Seville reduced local commissions. With the help of his son, Juan, Zurbarán looked to the Americas and Spanish colonies such as Argentina and Peri for new markets. This new enterprise proved prosperous; however, it was offset by further tragedy when Zurbarán’s second wife died in 16939. In 1644 he married Leonor de Tordera. They had six children, but only one survived infancy. Compounding Zurbarán’s personal loss, Juan lost his life to the plague which was ravaging Seville in 1649.
The Young Virgin, 1640-45. Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA
In the final decade of Zurbarán’s life Seville became less receptive of his work. He relocated to Madrid in 1658 to seek a change of fortune and joined a circle of fellow artists including his friend Velázquez. Zurbarán received some royal commissions and requests from individual patrons who were looking for paintings for their private religious devotions. However, he failed to recapture his earlier success and his financial position declined. In his final years, Zurbarán’s health declined and he was forced to stop painting in 1662 putting a further strain on the family finances.
Flora 1589 Mannerism Oil on board Private Collection
“Flora” is a portrait of the Roman Goddess of flowering plants, fruit, and spring. Typically for Arcimboldo, she is composed of whole flowers, buds, petals, leaves, and stems. However, it stands out from its predecessors due to the artist’s subtlety and delicacy of technique, adhering more to traditional understandings of beauty rather than the grotesque.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo 1527-1593
Giuseppe Arcimboldo Mannerism Born: 1527, Milan, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 11 July 1593, Milan, Italy
Arcimboldo was a painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made from objects such as fruit, vegetables, fish, books, and flowers. However, he was also a conventional painter of portraits, including three Holy Roman Emperors, religious subjects, and exotic animals. Arcimboldo’s still-life portraits were intended as curiosities, whimsical in nature produced to amuse the court.
In a dark studio Campi looms out of the shadows to make eye contact with the viewer as he paints a portrait of his elaborately dressed student, Anguissola. This may be the first time Anguissola is the subject of her own work so portrays herself as fashionable and jovial instead of the usually stoic and contemplative artist portrait.
Sofonisba Anguissola Mannerism, Baroque Born: 1532, Cremona, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 16 November 1625, Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Sofonisba Anguissola 1532-1625
Anguissola was a Renaissance painter, born to a poor but noble family. She received a well-rounded education including the fine arts and her apprenticeship with local painters of the time set a precedent for women to be accepted as students of art
Vertumnus 1590-91 Mannerism Oil on panel Skokloster Castle, Sweden
“Vertumnus” is portrait of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, depicted by Arcimboldo as the Roman god of the seasons, growth, gardens, fruit trees, and metamorphosis in nature. Typical of Arcimboldo’s portraits the composition of a human subject using natural forms is symbolic of the harmony between the rule of the Emperor and the rule of nature. The abundance of produce represents the return of the Golden Age under Rudolf II
Giuseppe Arcimboldo 1527-1593
Giuseppe Arcimboldo Mannerism Born: 1527, Milan, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 11 July 1593, Milan, Italy
Arcimboldo was a painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made from objects such as fruit, vegetables, fish, books, and flowers. However, he was also a conventional painter of portraits, including three Holy Roman Emperors, religious subjects, and exotic animals. Arcimboldo’s still-life portraits were intended as curiosities, whimsical in nature produced to amuse the court
Vegetables In A Bowl Or The Gardener by Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Vegetables In a Bowl or The Gardener 1587-90 Mannerism Oil on wood Museo Civico “Ala Ponzone”, Cremona, Italy
“Vegetables in a Bowl or the Gardener” is one of several paintings by Arcimboldo that can be viewed in reverse, revealing a still-life in one perspective and a portrait in the other. X-ray evidence shows that the painting process often required Arcimboldo to repaint and change the positions of some of the objects.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo 1527-1593
Giuseppe Arcimboldo Mannerism Born: 1527, Milan, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 11 July 1593, Milan, Italy
Arcimboldo was a painter best known for creating imaginative portrait heads made from objects such as fruit, vegetables, fish, books, and flowers. However, he was also a conventional painter of portraits, including three Holy Roman Emperors, religious subjects, and exotic animals. Arcimboldo’s still-life portraits were intended as curiosities, whimsical in nature produced to amuse the court
The Nobleman With his Hand on his Chest by El Greco
The Nobleman With his Hand on his Chest (El caballero de la mano en el pecho) 1580 Mannerism Oil on canvas Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
“The Nobleman With his Hand on his Chest” depicts an unknown nobleman or knight of about 30 years old. He is dressed in traditional Spanish attire holding a sword in one hand while the other is poised across his heart. He stares intensely out of the painting at the viewer in a manner that is profound in its realism yet also imaginative. El Greco’s work possesses technically accurate features such as the beard combined with his own stylized elements of elongated fingers and torso. The white ruffles contrast with the muted dark colours of El Greco’s palette which he uses to create emotional and psychological depths to define the subject.
El Greco 1541-1614
El Greco Mannerism Born: 1 October 1541, Crete, Greece Nationality: Greek-Spanish Died: 7 April 1614, Toledo, Spain
El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. El Greco was a nickname giving reference to his Greek origins, but he normally signed his paintings in his birth name, Doménikos Theotokópoulos, in Greek. Born in Candia, now known as Crete, which was part of the Republic of Venice, Italy, and the centre of post-Byzantine art, El Greco trained and became a master of that tradition before travelling to Venice at age 26. He moved to Rome in 1570, where he opened a workshop ad produced a series of works whilst enriching his style and techniques with elements of Mannerism and Venetian Renaissance. He moved to Toledo, Spain in 1577where lived and worked until his death
The Ecstasy of St. Francis of Assisi 1600 Mannerism Oil on canvas
“The Ecstasy of St Francis of Assis” depicts a popular subject of classical art, of the scene from the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, the legendary 12th-century saint, who two years before his death in 1224, embarked on a journey to Mount la Verna for forty days of prayer and fasting. One morning while he was praying he went into a religious ecstasy and received the stigmata from an angel or seraph. El Greco depicts this moment of ecstasy, portraying St Francis with a face full of emotions of devotion, pain, and surrender. In front of him is a skull, a symbol of mortality. El Greco creates a dark and sombre atmosphere echoing the painful and dramatic experience of the saint.
El Greco 1541-1614
El Greco Mannerism Born: 1 October 1541, Crete, Greece Nationality: Greek-Spanish Died: 7 April 1614, Toledo, Spain
El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. El Greco was a nickname giving reference to his Greek origins, but he normally signed his paintings in his birth name, Doménikos Theotokópoulos, in Greek (Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος). Born in Candia, now known as Crete, which as part of the Republic of Venice, Italy, and the centre of Post-Byzantine art, El Greco trained and became a master of that tradition before travelling to Venice at age 26. He moved to Rome in 1570, where he opened a workshop and produced a series of works whilst enriching his style and techniques with elements of Mannerism and Venetian Renaissance. He moved to Toledo, Spain in 1577 where he lived and worked until his death
Christ blessing (The Saviour of the World) by El Greco
Christ blessing (The Saviour of the World) 1600 Mannerism Oil on canvas Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, UK
The painting is a depiction of Christ holding one hand on a blue globe and pointed heavenward with the other. A light shining from behind and within him acts as a halo against the black background. Painted in El Greco’s signature fluid style the work possesses a profound aesthetic and psychological force given by the intense look in Christ’s eyes staring deep into the observer.
El Greco
El Greco Mannerism Born: 1 October 1541, Crete, Greece Nationality: Greek-Spanish Died: 7 April 1614, Toledo, Spain
El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. El Greco was a nickname giving reference to his Greek origins, but he normally signed his paintings in his birth name, Doménikos Theotokópoulos, in Greek (Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος). Born in Candia, now known as Crete, which as part of the Republic of Venice, Italy, and the centre of Post-Byzantine art, El Greco trained became a master of that tradition before travelling to Venice at aged 26. He moved to Rome in 1570, where he opened a workshop ad produced a series of work whilst enriching his style and techniques with elements of Mannerism and Venetian Renaissance. He moved to Toledo, Spain in 1577where lived and worked until his death
View of Toledo 1599 Mannerism Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
‘View of Toledo’ portrays the city where El Greco spent most of his life. A dramatic landscape, with vibrant vegetation in the foreground and the gathering of clouds announcing a storm in the background, the city is depicted in grey shades, sitting in the distance at the top of the hills, In an organically clustered accumulation the city buildings take on a cloud-like form.
El Greco
El Greco Mannerism Born: 1 October 1541, Crete, Greece Nationality: Greek-Spanish Died: 7 April 1614, Toledo, Spain
El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. El Greco was a nickname giving reference to his Greek origins, but he normally signed his paintings in his birth name, Doménikos Theotokópoulos, in Greek (Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος). Born in Candia, now known as Crete, which as part of the Republic of Venice, Italy, and the centre of Post-Byzantine art, El Greco trained became a master of that tradition before travelling to Venice at aged 26. He moved to Rome in 1570, where he opened a workshop ad produced a series of work whilst enriching his style and techniques with elements of Mannerism and Venetian Renaissance. He moved to Toledo, Spain in 1577where lived and worked until his death
The Assumption of the Virgin 1516-18 Renaissance, Mannerism Oil on board Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice, Italy
On a cloud surrounded by putti, Mary forms the focal point of the composition of this depiction of the ascension of the Virgin into heaven. Her eyes gaze upward to the god at the top of the picture and at the bottom as the miracle unfolds the apostles raise their arms towards her. The work is divided into three bands connected by outstretched hands as well as the repletion of gestures and looks. The red robes of the Virgin and two of the apostles create a visual pyramid leading the viewer’s eyes upwards.
Titian Renaissance, Mannerism Born 1490, Pieve di Cadore, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 27 August 1576, Venice, Italy
Titian was a painter and regarded as one of the greatest painters of the Renaissance, combining Mannerist and High Renaissance ideas to develop a style that is remarkable ahead of his time. His creativity dominated Venetian art and the city rivalled the artistic centres of Rome and Florence
Madonna and Child with Saint Martina and Saint Agnes by El Greco
Madonna and Child with Saint Martina and Saint Agnes 1597-99 Mannerism Oil on canvas The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., USA
A depiction of Mary and the infant Christ seated on clouds in heaven, Madonna and Child with Saint Martina and Saint Agnes is a large-scale painting dominated by the figures that intertwine in a interdependent and complex manner. Original placed opposite El Greco’s painting, Saint Martin and the Beggar, in the Chapel of St Joseph in Toledo, Spain it represents a body of El Greco’s work from his mature period between 1597 and 1607..
El Greco
El Greco Mannerism Born: 1 October 1541, Crete, Greece Nationality: Greek-Spanish Died: 7 April 1614, Toledo, Spain
El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. El Greco was a nickname giving reference to his Greek origins, but he normally signed his paintings in his birth name, Doménikos Theotokópoulos, in Greek (Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος). Born in Candia, now known as Crete, which as part of the Republic of Venice, Italy, and the centre of Post-Byzantine art, El Greco trained became a master of that tradition before travelling to Venice at aged 26. He moved to Rome in 1570, where he opened a workshop ad produced a series of work whilst enriching his style and techniques with elements of Mannerism and Venetian Renaissance. He moved to Toledo, Spain in 1577 where lived and worked until his death
Choir Vault at Santa Maria della Steccata, Parma by Parmigianino
Choir Vault at Santa Maria della Steccata, Parma 1535-39 Mannerism Tempera on fresco Church of Santa Maria della Steccata, Parma, Italy
Evidence of Parmigianino’s feverish practice by this time of his life, this detail from Steccata showing the wise virgins. A major commission, Parmigianino saw the opportunity to challenge the greatness of Correggio, and a majority of critics agree that the obsession got the better of him. A dove motif takes flight from the exposed bellies of crabs whilst swathes of foliage sweep down and around the golden rosettes. The Wise Virgins’ lamps are unlit, instead they glow with Parmigianino’s trademark inner light casting a pure white light. Meanwhile their counterparts, The Foolish Virgins, fritter away their oil casting a yellow light.
Parmigianino Mannerism, Renaissance, Italian Renaissance Born: 11 January 1503, Parma, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 24 August 1540, Casalmaggiore, Italy
Parmigianino was one of the leading painters of Palma, he also worked in Rome and Bologna. Ranking as one of the most compelling artists with a daring and readiness to confront the orthodoxies of the day Parmigianino was a leading figure of the Mannerist style
Virgin and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Jerome (Vision of St Jerome) 1526 Mannerism Oil on panel National Gallery, London, UK
The only altar piece Parmigianino was commissioned to make whilst in Rome, ‘Vision of St Jerome’ is one of the artist’s most accomplished religious works. The painting combines different temporal perspectives and toys with spatial relations between the figures with the divine figures much larger than their distance into the background suggests.
Parmigianino Mannerism, Renaissance, Italian Renaissance Born: 11 January 1503, Parma, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 24 August 1540, Casalmaggiore, Italy
Parmigianino was one of the leading painters of Palma, he also worked in Rome and Bologna. Ranking as one of the most compelling artists with a daring and readiness to confront the orthodoxies of the day Parmigianino was a leading figure of the Mannerist style
Madonna dal Collo Longo (Madonna with the Long Neck) 1535 Renaissance, Mannerism Oil on panel Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
According to Gould Madonna dal Collo Longo is Parmigianino’s most characteristic and most extreme work. That a single piece can be most extreme and most characteristic illustrates the visionary artist Parmigianino was. The elongated figure of the Madonna reflects the grace and elegance of the artist’s style. The various limbs and their angles are placed relation to each other in a manner that is both harmonious and erotically charged; balanced yet asymmetrical. A radical statement for its time in the history of devotional art Parmigianino’s instincts were to kerb his creative indulgences, but not completely.
Parmigianino Mannerism, Renaissance, Italian Renaissance Born: 11 January 1503, Parma, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 24 August 1540, Casalmaggiore, Italy
Parmigianino was one of the leading painters of Palma, he also worked in Rome and Bologna. Ranking as one of the most compelling artists with a daring and readiness to confront the orthodoxies of the day Parmigianino was a leading figure of the Mannerist style
Madonna and Child with Saint Stephen, the Baptist, and a Donor (Dresden Altarpiece) 1540 Renaissance, Mannerism Oil on panel Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, Germany
The vertilinear composition of this painting gives it an otherworldly effect. The palm branch at the left of the frame, St. Stephen’s other arm holding one of the stones used to kill him, and the Baptist’s cross form a trinity-scaffolding for the more fluid elements of the painting. From the folds in the fabric of the clothing of the saints, to the weighting of their arms, they hold their bodily posture on the steps, masterfully observed by the artist. St. Stephen looks out challengingly at the viewer, brandishing the heavy stone. It is an emphatic evocation of his martyrdom, and a willingness towards the achievement of divinity through sacrifice.
Parmigianino Mannerism, Renaissance, Italian Renaissance Born: 11 January 1503, Parma, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 24 August 1540, Casalmaggiore, Italy
Parmigianino was one of the leading painters of Palma, he also worked in Rome and Bologna. Ranking as one of the most compelling artists with a daring and readiness to confront the orthodoxies of the day Parmigianino was a leading figure of the Mannerist style
Venus and Adonis 1554 Mannerism Oil on canvas Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain
Created for Philip II of Spain, this painting is one of several versions based on the subject by Titian. Drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses the scene depicts Adonis leaving the goddess Venus after a night of passion to prepare his dogs for a hunt. The painting is one of several mythological images Titian painted for the King, and it is designed to viewed alongside Danae which featured a nude drawn from the front. The distended on the bottom of Venus was a novelty in art and considered extremely erotic.
Titian Renaissance, Mannerism Born: 1490, Pieve di Cadore, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 27 August 1576, Venice, Italy
Titian was a painter and regarded as one of the greatest painters of the Renaissance, combining Mannerist and High Renaissance ideas to develop a style that is remarkable ahead of his time. His creativity dominated Venetian art and the city rivalled the artistic centres of Rome and Florence
Title: A Young Woman (“Antea”) Date: 1534 Movement: Mannerism Media: Oil on canvas Current Location: Capodimonte Museum, Naples, Italy
Better known for radical Mannerist religious art, Parmigianino made great advances in the field of portraiture. The expressive and decorative detail in give this painting a power that was absent from contemporary portraiture of the time. ‘Antea’ is not simply the object of this paintings she is gazing back at the viewer with calm ferocity asserting her authority.
Artist: Parmigianino Born: 11 January 1503, Parma, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 24 August 1540, Casalmaggiore, Italy
Parmigianino was one of the leading painters of Palma, he also worked in Rome and Bologna. Ranking as one of the most compelling artists with a daring and readiness to confront the orthodoxies of the day Parmigianino was a leading figure of the Mannerist style.
Title: Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror Date: 1524 Movement: Mannerism Media: Oil on convex wood panel Current Location: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria
Parmigianino’s earliest self-portrait was a meticulously created and radical composition using a curved barber’s mirror with the artist carefully ensuring everything visible in the glass appeared on the convex panel of poplar he had specifically made.
Artist: Parmigianino Born: 11 January 1503, Parma, Italy Nationality: Italian Died: 24 August 1540, Casalmaggiore, Italy
Jezzie G 