Disscussion 7: Readings on the "problem" of "Mannerism"

Mannerism or maniera was used as a derogatory term in the 1550's. The critics of the time saw it as the inevitable decline in art and critiqued it for its lack of faithfulness to nature. As the artists of mannerism tended to follow a sort of formula and critics complained that their work look to much alike, therefore they had a practiced or mannered way of creating their work.

Freedberg makes a distinction between early mannerism and high mannerism. Where, according to him, early mannerism is a way to express very personal concerns and emotions in a controlled, but rather experimental manner, and on the other hand high mannerism is more restricted and appears to remain within set boundaries, "The high Maniera image is, beyond its precedents, stylized and purposely artificial, yet it conveys its own kind of intense convincingness" (Freedberg 286).