Mannerism is an artistic style and movement that developed in Europe from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance, around the 1520s, to the end of the 16th century
Origin and development
By the end of the High Renaissance, young artists experienced a crisis: it seemed that everything that could be achieved was already achieved. No more difficulties, technical or otherwise, remained to be solved. The detailed knowledge of anatomy, light, physiognomy and the way in which humans register emotion in expression and gesture, the innovative use of the human form in figurative composition, the use of the subtle gradation of tone, all had reached near perfection. The young artists needed to find a new goal, and they sought new approaches. At this point, Mannerism started to emerge. The new style developed between 1510 and 1520 either in Florence, or in Rome, or in both cities simultaneously.
The Mannerism
Or
The Late Renaissance
Man nerist Scul pture
The Mannerist style of sculpture began to create a form in which figures showed physical power, passion, tension, and semantic perfection. Movements were not without motivation, nor even simply done with a will, but were shown in a pure form.
The mannerist sculpture was an attempt to find an original style that would surpass the achievements of the High Renaissance, which was equated with Michelangelo. Much of the struggle to surpass his success centered on commissions to fill other places in the Piazza Della Signoria in Florence, next to Michelangelo’s David.
At that time:
1534 - Henry VIII separates the Church of England from the Catholic Church of Rome so that he can divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn.
1558 - Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England.
1599 - William Shakespeare builds the Globe theatre. He will write many of his great plays over the next few years including Hamlet and Macbeth.
1610 - Galileo discovers the moons of Jupiter.
1618 - The Thirty Years War begins.