The iconography of the first generation mannerists Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Barber, Betsy Ann, 1940- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 07/10/2021 12:30:44 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/317975 THE ICONOGRAPHY Of THE FIRST GENERATION MANNERISTS by ’ Betsy Ann Barber A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ART In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the History of Art In the Graduate College THE UNITERSITT OF ARIZONA 1 9 6 6 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable with­ out special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quo­ tation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: QUh m * APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: 10BERT M. QUINN Date Proyfessor of Art History TABLE OF COHTBBTS .Page I. ISTROBUGTIOS ................. 1 II. M C S C m o W B : POETRY, POLITICAL S0ISICE AND HISTORY .............. 7 III. mCKG-EOUHBi POLITICAL, SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS . .......... ♦ . , 23 • IV. POETOESO'S JOSEPH SCENES ........... 49 V. NAB3RATIVB CYCLES ............... 59 VI, ALTARPIBCBS 'L ....... 89 ■ VII. GROTESQUE STYLE ................. 108 1 VIII. THE MARTYRDOM OF THE 10,000 ......... 117 IX. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ............ 125 APPENDIX I ................. 129 APPENDIX II ................. 131 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ............ 132 ill ABSTRACT By traeing developments lia other selected phases of eiiaqnecento activity that seem to be similar to art it can be shown how the mannerist style, 1b its earliest groping stage and, its more uniform man 1 era, was related to the situation surrounding' it both historically and in other arts. As the cultural and stylistic stability of the High Renaissance dis­ integrated the first generation of mannerist art emerges stylistically and icomographically, and emphasises its de­ pendence on the painting of the preceding decade. However instead of comparing the individual works of art with those that precede or follow them it is more illuminating to jux­ tapose the productions of Rome and Florence. The different, almost opposite, backgrounds are seen to reappear in some related aspects'of the art of the two cities. This is demon­ strable in the following subjects: narrative cycles, reli­ gious altarpieces,the Martyrdom of the 10, 000, the Joseph scenes, and the grotesque style. I. INtKOBUeriOB This study will be oenfined withia certain aecessary limits. Chronologically it is restricted to the period, from 1515 to 1530» Although suggestions of mannerist style occur before, its complete and coherent expressions emerge in I51S in Florence and in 1521 in Borne, Obviously it does not appear unannounced, but occurs by degrees in the immediately preoed- img painting', and as. Freedberg 1 has observed there is nothing " in the painting of these first mannerists which has not been anticipated in their own earlier paintings or those of their contemporaries, After the third decade most of these paint­ ers1 styles approach that of later mannerism, for example that of Bosso’s at Fontainebleau, while there is much greater diversity in the style of early mannerism; a time of experi­ ment. Finally, the point of 1530 has the merit of coinciding naturally with a period of radical change, marking the com­ plete less of Italian independence. Within this period paintings of the two cities most instrumental in creating the renaissance and mannerism will be studied. Some and Florence, .’Each city has a certain degree of stylistic unity, home mere so than .Florence, They also have 1. Freedberg, Painting of the Sigh Renaissance in Borne and Florence, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard UnTveFsTtv""™ Press, 1961, I, p». 5^9, the advantage &£ being more fully documented and more, coher­ ently studied than secondary centers. While met in the form of a comparison, since the material does not lend itself to this method of presentation, a comparison sometimes helps to distinguish their differing courses-of development. Within these chronological and geographical areas am added distinction has to be made between mannerism and the various.other styles which existed beside it. 4 large part of this thesis is devoted to background material. It attempts to establish.a bread and pervasive framework which could not but affect artists as well as be affected by them. It shows that a parallel attitude to that of art existed in other fields, in some more clearly than in others. Among the subjects undertaken, the second chapter po­ larises the two most typical pursuits.of Home and Florence; poetry, and political science and history. It sketches the diametrically opposed literature of the two cities. The third, chapter touches on the political situation. This chapter traces the religious■actions and attitudes characteristic of each city which are governed by the dominating forces of Savonarola and the papacy. The social background concerns the patronage of art and the changing status of the artist. In summation, theorising and attempts to standardize, as among the foremost trends in the intellectual life of the sixteenth century, are depicted briefly in several fields since they seem to have had their genesis in the period mmder discussion, or slightly later in some areas. The remaining chapters analyze the art under catego­ ries of subject matter. The Joseph scenes by Pontormo in. chapter four document the earliest appearance of mannerism in Florence* and compare Pontormo to the other participants in the decoration of the Borghisi Bridal chamber. The narrative cycles in chapter five continue a major kind of High Renais­ sance painting and are the only cycles of this kind in Rome and Florence in the first generation,. Since Madonna and Child altarpieees were so common to the earlier renaissance and so rare to later mannerism* they come under consideration in the sixth chapter , - The Roman preoccupation with the remains of antiquity relates to the altarpieees and is in that chapter. Also Included in this" chapter are altarpieees of a different subjects Pietas and Depositions, produced primarily in Flor­ ence, The seventh chapter contains a discussion of the gro­ tesque style. It changes little in style at this time but was painted, in great quantity in Rome and.is an apt expression of Roman taste. The eighth chapter concerns the Martyrdom of the 10,000. It offers a unique opportunity to compare.the two cities and summarize their differences. A stylistic analysis has been integrated into the dis­ cussion of the iconography of these subjects. In such a sub­ ject as the Madonna and Child altarpieees, a certain degree of standardization exists that makes stylistic changes as meamiagfml as strictly iconographic ernes.- Bat besides this, and the impossibility of separating style and iconography, the justification for such, an inclusion lies in the relation of style to iconography in this particular period. In mannerism, the style itself often serves ds i. t-ehieie of expression as much as the usual attributes or actions attached to a situa­ tion that give it ieonographical meaning. This proves to be more valid for some subjects than for others. Per example, mannerism is most expressive in battle scenes. Major paintings or cycles have been selected for icon­ ographic discussion so that the question cannot arise as to whether they are representative of the mannerist style. This method of selection also has the advantage of concentrating on works that are historically the most important commissions and artistically the best work. In some instances they are taken from a group of lesser works and in others they are isolated examples. Usually iconographic analyses are not conducted in this way, but a single .-theme is studied and the changes in it followed through a period of years. It is hoped that in this paper a .cross section will reveal characteristics of the two cities which may be connected with the historical background. The first appearances of mannerism in the second dec­ ade are merely individual explorations and attempts to find 2 new solutions to artistic problems. They cannot be directly 2. Craig Hugh Smyth, .11 Manner ism. and Man! era. " Acts of the XX International Congress of the History oF^Ar^T Princeton, Princeton University Press, 19^3, II, p. 197. cotmected with events ©utside of art, at least partly because they are se diverse, especially in Florence, Art does p&ral- lel ether areas in many respects» But about 1525~2S- 3 ■ man,iera arrives simultaneously in the painting of Some and Florence and determines the style of Italian art for most of the rest of the century. It is characterized