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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE LATE RENAISSANCE AND MANNERISM
IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY ITALY
Google Earth Coordinates:
Palazzo del Te, Mantua, Italy
San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice
Il Gesu, Rome
Video Links:
Chartes, Cathedral of Notre-Dame
Compare and Contrast
Image Flashcards
Term Flashcards
Late Renaissance Florence: The Church, The Court, and Mannerism
Key Images
Rosso Fiorentino, The Descent from the Cross, p. 593, 17.1
Capponi Chapel, Sannta Felicità, Florence, p. 594, 17.2
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Benvenuto Cellini, Saltcellar of Francis I, p. 600, 17.12
Giovanni Bologna, The Rape of the Sabine Woman, p. 601, 17.13
Primary Source: Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), from The Autobiography, p. 600
In the early sixteenth century, Florentine artists developed a new style of art that
This conscious lack of balance can be seen in Jacopo da Pontormo s The
Entombment.
Rome Reformed
Key Images
Michelangelo, The Last Judgment, p. 602, 17.14
Primary Source: Michelangelo the Poet, p. 603
Pope Paul III responded to the challenge of the Protestant Reformation by calling the
Council of Trent. The council, which issued its regulations in 1564, proposed
expansive reforms.
Northern Italy: Ducal Courts and Urban Centers
Key Images
Giulio Romano, Courtyard of the Palazzo del Te, Mantua, p. 609, 17.24
Giulio Romano, Fall of the Giants from Mount Olympus, p. 610, 17.25
Correggio, Jupiter and Io, p. 610, 17.26
In Mantua, Isabella d Este, the wife of Francesco II Gonzaga, was one of the most
Parma and Cremona
Key Images
Correggio, The Assumption of the Virgin, p. 611, 17.27
Parmigianino, Self Portrait, p. 612, 17.28
Parmigianino, The Madonna with the Long Neck, p. 612, 17.29
Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait, p. 613, 17.30
The commission of Mannerist works in Parma and Bologna suggests that these
patrons were also interested in artistic innovations.
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Venice: The Serene Republic
Key Images
Andrea Palladio, Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, p. 615, 17.32
Primary Source: Andrea Palladio (1508-1580), from The Four Books on
Architecture, p. 616
From a Session of the Inquisition Tribunal in Venice of Paolo
Veronese, p. 620
Materials and Techniques: Oil on canvas, p. 618
In Venice, Sansovino became the chief architect of the city. His buildings were
deeply influenced by his background as a sculptor and are very sculptural.
hallmarks of Venetian painting, also seen in the work of Giorgione.
Key Terms/Places/Names
Mannerism
Catholic Reformation
Discussion Questions
1. In what ways does Il Gesù exemplify the aims of the Counter Reformation?
2. In what ways could some of Michelangelo s later works be considered Mannerist?
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4. How does the Mannerist aesthetic counter that of the High Renaissance with respect
to spatial illusionism in painting?
5.
Medici (17.10) function allegorically?
Resources
Books
Ames-Lewis, Francis, and Paul Joannides.
Effect on Art and Artists in the Sixteenth Centuty. Burlington: Ashgate Publishers,
2003.
Carroll, Eugene A. Rosso Fiorentino. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1987.