Mannerism and Maniera by Freedberg and Craig Hugh Smyth

Did la maniera cause the decline or corruption of Cinquento painting, or was it a new style that emerged as artists became more inventive and restless with the proven classical style of painting?  As proven over the centuries, artists do break from the tradition of painting to create a new aesthetic, expressiveness style, which, oftentimes, is rejected by the public or patrons, such as Impressionism.

Immaculate Conception, Vasari

Most importantly, la maniera developed because there was a high demand for extensive, quick decorations. Artists began to seek a different way of doing things, based their work on their imagination and applied themselves to working that was fast and completely maniroso.  The artists produced paintings that were excessively accentuated with figures, who expressed grace and refinement; overly emphasized Michelangelo’s muscular nudes, which were multiplied and exaggerated into meaningless poses and at the same time crowded; and added confusion and flatness to the picture plane through the figure, light and space.

 

 Well-known High Renaissance writer, Dolce, as well as others disapproved of the art, la maniera, and thought it bad practice to paint the same forms and faces with the same expressions and movements.  On the other hand, Vasari (a mature Mannerism painter), considered la maniera as the method of copying frequently the most beautiful things and combining them to make the most beautiful figure(s) possible in hands, heads, bodies or legs.

From numerous researched sources, both articles revealed, that la maniera was more than the elongation of the figure.  La maniera consisted of angular elements, such as an arm held angular to the air and adhered to the principles of angularity, which were generally diagonal.  Another characteristic, was the tendency to flatten the figure parallel to the picture plane so that poses were often abruptly twisted in two or three directions or foreshortened.  On the other hand, light was considered the hallmark of maniera and added to its uniformity.  Whatever surface the flat light touched, flat or not, it had a tendency to look flat, whereas shadow was reserved for surfaces that receded or projected.  In addition, the ground was tilted upward, which placed the rear figures higher and the space was deep, shallow or eliminated.  All in all, the chief focus of la maniera was on the figure with exaggerated refinement, grace, and elegance and often inserted into a variety of unusual poses, which were sometimes perplexingly complicated.

The Rape of Europa, 1559-1562, (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston)

Rape of Europa, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

The sixth and last of the Poesie for Philip II was sent to Spain in April 1562.  The story as detailed in Ovid’s Metamorphosis involves Jupiter’s (king of Crete) transformation into a white bull to abduct the princess, Europa, and make her his bride.  In the right foreground, the bull is seen swimming out to sea with the terrified Europa on his back, while in the left background her companions watch helplessly from the shore.

In composing his Rape of Europa, Titian chose to portray neither the seduction on the shore, which Ovid lingered over, nor the more significant events that happened in Crete, but the chaotic voyage between two events.   Two cupids soar across the sky, another moves through the water on a dolphin while the bull with Europa moves across the sea against a backdrop of fiery colors.  The canvas establishes an exuberant movement in a horizontal flow across the picture plane through the power of the bull’s body movement upward beyond the space of the canvas, Europa’s fluttering drapery, the swimming sea creatures and the flying cupids in charge of love. In no other work was Titian so willing to sacrifice his heroine’s grace and loveliness for the sake of expression into a powerful vision of passion and sensation. 

The white shift of Europa and her pale flesh tones are managed with greatest subtlety against the white bull.  The iridescent lights of the sea are truly dazzling as from foreground to the distant mountains it slowly merges with the haze of the horizon.  The crags and rocky slopes, glimpsed through veiled lights and opalescent colors, are created by the magical effects of the brush and conjure up an illusion of space and atmosphere that knows no precedent and understandably, afterward, stimulated masters of landscape.

Dirce, Toro Farnese, Rome

The only significant difference between Ovid’s text of Europa and Titian’s is the reversal of directions, for the painter has Europa holding her drapery in her right hand and the bull’s horn (rather than his mane) in her left.   In addition to the well-known passage in Ovid, it has been recently been shown that Titian must have read Achilles Tatius, whose poem was translated into Italian by his friend, Lodovico Dolce.  This literary source mentions the mountainous distance where the tiny figures of Europa’s companions watch with astonishment along with the joyful dolphins in the foreground and the distressed and trailing cupids in the air.  Furthermore, it has been convincingly suggested that Titian derived Europa’s awkward pose from the Dirce in the Toro Farnese group, which Titian discovered while visiting Rome in 1546.

Originally, Titian wrote to Philip II in placing the Perseus and Andromeda with another picture, the Jason and Medea and the Rape of Europa with the Death of Actaeon. Whether the pendants were lost or never executed, the pendant, Perseus and Andromeda compositional compliments the sea landscape in Rape of Europa.

Works Cited

Allegory of Prudence, 1565-1575, National Gallery, London

Cagli, Corrado, Art .Classics, Titian. Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. New York, NY. 2006. Print. Pages: 7-33, 44-55, 118, 136.

First published in conjunction with the exhibition, Titian Prince of Painters. Prestel-Verlag Verlegerdienst, Munchen GmbH & Co KG, Gutenbergstrasse, Federal Republic of Germany. 1990. Print. Pages: 1-28, 267-268, 327-328.

Goffen, Rona, Titian’s Women. Millard Meiss Publication Fund of the College of Art Association. Yale University Press, New Haven & London. 1997. Print.  Pages: 215-217, 224-227, 242-253, 265-273.

Gould, Cecil, The Perseus and Andromeda and Titian's Poesie. 
Source: The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 105, No. 720 (Mar., 1963). Pages: 112-117.

Holmes, Charles, Titian's Venus and Adonis in the National Gallery. 
Source: The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 44, No. 250 (Jan., 1924). Pages: 16, 18, 19, 21, 22.

Hope, Charles, Titian and His Patrons. Prestel-Verlag Verlegerdienst, Munchen GmbH & Co KG, Gutenbergstrasse, Federal Republic of Germany. 1990. Print. Pages: 1-8.

Nash, Jane C., Veiled Images Titian’s Mythological Paintings for Philip II. Associated University Presses, Inc. Cranbury, NJ. 1985. Print. Pages: 22-39, 51-67.

Rearick, W.R., Titian's Later Mythologies. 
Source: Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 17, No. 33. 1996. Pages: 23-67.

Wethley, Harold E., The Paintings of Tititan. III The Mythological and History Paintings. Phaidon Press Ltd. London. 1975. Print. Pages: 41-42, 71-84.

Michelangelo’s Last Judgment by Marcia Hall and Leo Steinberg

What a challenge it must have been for Michelangelo to narrate the resurrection of the individual as both the Old and New Testament were contradictory in offering information, Averroes and the Medici popes, Leo and Clement, did not believe in such theory and the only source that Michelangelo could rely on was St. Paul’s text in how each individual would receive a new “spiritual body“ for eternal life along with his own imagination in dramatizing the event.

Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel, Rome

The most expensive and brilliant pigment after gold, lapis lazuli, was used to represent heaven in an arrangement of hundreds of figures (originally made and copied from a wax model and melted and reshaped again) into an astonishing array of contrapposto poses which each figure conveys an emotional intensity.  It is understandable that the fresco was view as a school, in which artists were encouraged to draw the great art of Raphael, Caravaggio and especially, Michelangelo’s Last Judgment as it offered a immense source of poses.

On the hand, it is surprising to read that the fresco invoked so much opposition, from Arentino’s blackmail attempt in seeing the indecency of Michelangelo’s figures in the most sacred chapel on earth.  Resulting in the lively discussions of the Council of Trent, who ruled the outcomes and deemed whether the art was sacred.  Finally, the theologian, Giovanni Andrea Gilio, who argued, with supportive evidence through the writings of Horace and other ancient writers on the concept of decorum, that the fresco had fallen into corruption and it required immediate rescue because of its display in nudity and its unnaturalness in poses.  Gilio feared (and eventually the Church) that the Last Judgment would distract the viewer and seem ridiculous in the eyes of those who could not read because sacred art was to be clearly understood, as it was a substitute for the written word.

Although the Last Judgment was corrected with the addition of loincloths, it was the most copied and engraved work of art in all of Europe.  At the end of the century, seventeen versions were made, as it was believed that the people must have used the prints as devotional objects.  In the end, the Church saw how the Last Judgment did reach and instructed a much larger audience and would turn this lesson to their advantage.

Perseus and Andromeda, (Wallace Collection, London), 1554-1556

Perseus and Andromeda, Wallace Collection, London

Third of the Poisie, the subject is based on a passage in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in which the poet describes the rescue of the princess of Ethiopia, Andromeda, by the hero, Perseus, flying on his winged helmet and sandals.  This is the lovers’ dramatic first encounter and without knowing anything about Andromeda, the hero must destroy the sea monster to rescue his future wife.

Titian portrays the moment when the energetic Perseus (son of Danae by Jupiter), starts to fly down from the sky to battle the sea monster.  The painting follows Ovid’s description in its general action; however, it departs from the text in a number of details.   Although Ovid states that Andromeda’s arms are chained behind her back, Titian shows the arms raised by their restraints, giving Andromeda a somewhat buoyant appearance.   While, Ovid text describes the coral first appearing after the death of the sea monster and the release of the princess, Titian shows the coral curling at Andromeda’s feet.  Finally, the oddly towered landscape in the background has not origins in Ovid’s myth.

Perseus and Andromeda, Cellini's Bronze Bas-Relief

Nude, frontal, and enchained, Andromeda’s vulnerability is both physical and psychological.  Her head is turned in profile to witness Perseus descending inward brandishing a sword with the intent to slay the ferocious and decorative sea monster. Despite Andromeda desperate situation, her pose is graceful with an uninterrupted arch from shoulder to foot, which reveals Michelangelo’s influence.  Additionally, Andromeda is far more slender than the other women in the Poisie.  It has been suggested that these qualities may reflect the influence of Cellini’s bronze bas-relief, Perseus in Loggia dei Lanzi, which Titian could have seen during his only visit to Florence in 1546.  Cellini’s flying Perseus, although facing in the opposite direction, is similar to Titian’s in the arrangement of the legs.  Even more, the huge beaky heads of the sea monsters are alike.  The ultimate interest in the comparison between the two compositions is the placement of Andromeda.  With the exception of the bystanders who occupy the right half of Cellini’s composition, Andromeda was reposition from the center to the right, whereas Titian eventually placed her on the left.

Much of Titian’s technique and thinking was done on the canvas as revealed in the restoration and x-rays of Perseus and Andromeda.  Like the other Poesie, this one was also painted on a thin white gesso ground.  Titian made outline drawings on the gesso and then built up the composition in numerous layers of pigment, opaque or semi-opaque and translucent glazes.  For Andromeda, Titian’s technique was changed using a thick, almost totally white layering over the outlines and applying pale gesso to indicate shadows.  This technique required long periods of time to allow the paint to dry completely before the next layer could be applied, probably two and a half years.  Additionally, x-rays confirms a radical alteration to the original composition in which Andromeda stood at right with Perseus dropped from the air to battle the sea dragon at center and the painting’s tonality was lighter, more rosy; however, it quickly gave away to a darkly, dramatic new concept.

Perseus, Cellini's Bronze Sculpture

All things considered, classical, medieval and Renaissance writers were unanimous in their praise of Perseus, whom they viewed as a model hero whose daring endeavor could serve as metaphor in the conquest of virtue over vice.

Venus and Adonis 1553-1554, (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid)

Venus and Adonis, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, close-up of Farnesina Fresco

In September of 1554, Titian sent to London, the second poesie, Venus and Adonis, painted for the future king, Philip II, recently married to Queen Mary Tudor of England.  This work was the first of many paintings (more than thirty painted and engraved copies are known) that Titian dedicated to the mythological theme of the love between Venus and Adonis, which he interpreted in various versions (most famous of those, in the Galleria Nazionale in Rome and the Metropolitan Museum in New York).  Now in the Prado Museum, Philip II’s poesie of Venus and Adonis is probably the most elaborate instance of contrapposto Titian ever undertook and is unmistakably inspired by the Psyche in the Farnesina fresco, the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche.  This  painting has been recognized as the reproduction of the original as the original had a horizontal crease when the picture was folded in half for shipment, which resulted in an irregular strip of paint loss along most of its width, but most noticeably in the figures where the impasto was thicker. The most distressed Philip sent the painted back to Titian for repair.  Consequently, it getting every detail just right, it robbed the replica of its spontaneity and Titian’s stronger, creative practice in developing his ideas during the execution of the work.  The second version shows Adonis and the quiver to conform to a more antiquarian aesthetic, perhaps at the suggestion of Dolce.  In addition, the white dove that nestles quietly next to Cupid’s foot has been eliminated from the replica along with all subsequent replicas or variants. 

Venus and Adonis, National Gallery, London

Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, Farnesina Fresco

Using an unrestraint and imaginative artistic approach, Titian focused on the dramatic potential of Ovid’s myth from Metamorphoses, however, Ovid’s text and other classical sources does not the episode when Adonis resists Venus’s pleads and embrace to dispatch with his dogs on a fierce boar hunt. Titian shows the goddess passionately pleading with her lover not to depart for the hunt, since she has a premonition that he will be killed by a wild boar.  Crisp contoured forms and cool tonalities focus on the moment of Adonis’s self-denial as well as a number of other iconographic elements that reflect the hunter’s action, such as the sleeping and disarmed Cupid with his bow and arrows hanging in a nearby tree with the white dove at his foot suggests the powerlessness of intense love as well as the large, overturned golden urn.  The fashionable man’s coat that Venus sits upon implies that Adonis has removed his past apparel in favor of a hunting tunic, which reveals his conversion from worldliness to moderation. Additionally, the lush green landscape where Venus is sitting gradually becomes a barren terrain that awaits the hunter as he moves away from the goddess in favor for the hunt.  The story ends with the death of Adonis from the wounds inflicted by a wild boar and later; Venus transforms him into an everlasting anemone (a flower quick to blossom and quick to die).

One may wonder about the brilliant burst of light that radiates from the opening in the sky.  It has been implied that the unidentified figure is a reminder of Venus subsequent departure in her chariot drawn by doves (rather than swans in Ovid’s myth) and the shooting golden rays of light towards the grove of trees below, indicates where Adonis, almost invisible, lies wounded until his death.

Venus and Adonis, Metropolitan Museum, New York

Titian chose an essentially square picture field, departing from the uniformity in showing it with the first Poesie, Danae.  On the other hand, Titian continues his interests in portraying the Poesie, in his own narrative interpretation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, showing the female nude from different points of view as well as showing the eccentric states of love.

In 1554, in his letter to Philip II, Titian states his interests in portraying the Poesie in his own narrative and interpretation from Ovid’s Metamorphoses as well as showing the female nude from several points of view and the emotion of love from different points of view.  In Danae, love is fulfilled and the mutual love of god and mortal woman, whereas in Venus and Adonis love is denied, a goddess rejected by a mortal man.  Neither Ovid, nor any other author, ancient or modern, had described exactly what Titian represented in his versions of Venus and Adonis, a new emotional situation as who abandons the goddess of Love?

Status on the Paintings by Michelangelo and Titian

Last Judgement, Michelangelo

Rape of Europa, Titian

I am currently reading articles about the masterpiece, Last Judgement by Michelangelo as well as doing research on the two paintings by Titian, Venus and Adonis, Perseus and Andromeda and Rape of Europa.  So much can be written about these paintings as they are full of iconography and stories within in the narrative.  Please look for more information on these paintings as I complete my research within the next few days.

Venus and Adonis, Titian

Perseus and Andromeda, Titian

Venus of Urbino by Rona Goffen

Assumption of the Virgin

At a very young age, Titian’s popularity originated with the largest panel painting in the world, Assumption of the Virgin, for the high altar of S Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.  A remarkable artist, Titian, whom was the first to had have an international career from the greatest patrons (who approached Titian), including Charles V and Philip II.  It was Charles V who gave Titian an honorable title, Knight of the Golden Spur, Count of Latern Palace and of the Imperial Consistory; and recognized Titian as a portraitist much like Alexander the Great admired his favorite painter, Apelles.  Known for his painterly brushwork and animated handling of pigment, known as colorito, Titian succeeded in gaining artistic freedom in his compositions (beginning with Philip II), an accomplishment that few artists achieved during the Renaissance.

Venus of Urbino

In 1538, Titian painted Venus of Urbino for Guidobaldo II della Rovere.  It is interesting to know that no other artist had placed a nude woman reclining on a bed in a room decorated with marriage chests in a 16^th century palace as well as a woman directly engaging the viewer.  Additionally, no literary source was the foundation for Titian’s painting, Venus of Urbino, however, many history scholars and researchers in their over interpretation of Titian’s nudes have concluded to conflicting and complementary theories from erotic art to understanding 16^th century women as goddesses or courtesans.  Nevertheless, Titian’s painting does not fit a theory, yet it portrays a traditional association, beautiful women as beautiful art, and in doing so, the artist reveals his own genius.