Around 1520 -1600 · Virtuosity, tension and imagination after the High Renaissance

From Pontormo and Parmigianino to Bronzino, Tintoretto, Arcimboldo and El Greco, mannerism prefers elongated figures, unreal colors, complex poses and unstable spaces to classical balance.

Mannerism developed in Italy around 1520, after the great achievements of Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo. The term comes from "maniera", a word which designates style and personal mastery. Long interpreted as a decadence of the Renaissance, the movement is today understood as a voluntary search for sophistication, artifice and freedom. Artists no longer seek only natural harmony: they stretch bodies, twist poses, compress space and combine unexpected colors. Florence and Rome no longer seek only natural harmony: they stretch bodies, twist poses, compress space and combine unexpected colors. Florence and Rome no longer seek only natural harmony: they stretch bodies, twist poses, compress space and combine unexpected colors. Florence and Rome no longer seek only natural harmony: they stretch bodies, twist poses, compress space and combine unexpected colors. Florence and Rome no longer seek only natural harmony: they stretch bodies, twist poses, compress space and combine unexpected colors. Florence and Rome no longer seek only natural harmony: they stretch bodies, twist poses, compress space and combine unexpected colors. Florence and Rome no longer seek only natural harmony: they stretch bodies, twist poses, compress space and combine unexpected colors. Florence and Rome no longer seek only natural harmony: they stretch bodies, twist poses, compress space and combine unexpected colors. Florence and Rome no longer seek only natural harmony: they stretch bodies, twist poses, compress space lighting. The court of Fontainebleau diffuses the style in France, while Prague becomes a spectacular home around Rudolf II, Arcimboldo and Spranger. El Greco finally takes elongation and visionary color to a radical spiritual expression in Toledo. The four chosen works make this diversity readable. Pontormo destabilizes a sacred meeting through attitudes and color. Parmigianino constructs the Vision of Saint Jerome around elegant bodies and unusual relationships of scale. El Greco builds the Vision of Saint Jerome around elegant bodies and unusual relationships of scale. El Greco builds the Vision of Saint Jerome around elegant bodies and unusual relationships of scale. El Greco builds the Vision of Saint Jerome around elegant bodies and unusual relationships of scale. El Greco builds the Vision of Saint Jerome around elegant bodies and unusual relationships of scale. El Greco makes the Resurrection an ascent of luminous forms. Arcimboldo builds the Vision of Saint Jerome around elegant bodies and unusual relationships of scale. El Greco makes the Resurrection an ascent of luminous forms. Arcimboldo builds the Vision of Saint Jerome around elegant bodies and unusual relationships of scale. El Greco makes the Resurrection an ascent of luminous forms. Arcimboldo builds the Vision of Saint Jerome around elegant bodies and unusual relationships of scale. El Greco less as a formula than as an art conscious of its own invention. The "Mannerism" selection notably compares Virgin and Child and Saints - Pontormo and The Vision of Saint Jerome - Parmigianino. His reading favors space.

Mannerism does not correct artifice: it exhibits it. Beauty comes from the difficulty, improbable elegance and imagination of the painter.