Thesis statement: Baroque used the artificial intellectual sophistication of Mannerism and exaggerated it to the extent appealing to aristocratic and religious elite. Though most people like mannerism for its high-quality techniques that come from the experience of previous historical era in art, Baroque has emerged when the creativity of artists was of great value and their works were appreciated and acknowledged by representatives of aristocracy and religious elite.
Mannerism
The period of Mannerism emerged from High Renaissance and can be considered the predecessor of Baroque. The key factors for its advent can be analyzed with the help of assessment of social context in which this style has occurred.
In other words, social relationships and their connection to political and religious concepts of the time created a fruitful ground for advent of Mannerism as a style typical of the European art and sculpture in sixteenth century. Though the origin of the style is suggested as Italian High Renaissance, the movement was spread on the territory of the entire Europe in this or that manner.
As the Renaissance was characterized by natural depiction of nature and society with regard to accurate depiction of human body peculiarities in different ages in terms of movements, gestures, emotions expressed on the face, drapes of clothes, and use of light and shade techniques, it is necessary to analyze Mannerism in terms of these peculiarities. Naturalistic presentation of different objects, events, and life situations was substituted for more artificial qualities and intellectually sophisticated approach.
The main characteristics of Mannerism include artificiality of depiction and sophisticated intellect that can be traced in all pictures of prominent artists of this era. Social conditions were contributing to the advent of the style because people wanted something new than naturalistic representation of images they could see with their own eyes.
More creativity and artificiality was imposed into artistic techniques and methods used for depiction of people, still-life, landscapes, and other objects. This can be traced in the picture Madonna with long neck (1534-1540) painted by Francesco Mazzola; this picture is currently exhibited at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
Baroque
The style of Baroque was followed by Rococo and preceded by Mannerism. This style can be considered one of the greatest ones for European and world artistic world including painting, sculpture, literature, architecture, and other fine arts. However, it is necessary to focus on paintings to compare and contrast the painting created in Mannerism manner and the one of Baroque epoch.
As the Baroque style was influenced greatly by the social conditions of the time and its origin can be found in the era of Mannerism, it was characterized with overt emotions and vivid movements, realistic depiction of poses and naturalistic though sometimes exaggerated use of colors and space. Light and shade techniques as well as space and organization of objects in the picture can be considered the key characteristic of Baroque works. Vivid poses and overt emotions became the main peculiarity of the style.
Social conditions can be treated as beneficial for the advent of the style because religious authorities were respected more than political ones. So, Biblical stories were often used as the basis for pictures and series of pictures created in the same manner. In other words, the main way of presenting something original was to depict Biblical characters in pictures using main Baroque techniques and methods.
The advent of the style was preconditioned by the religious beliefs of people and increasing number of religious authorities and churches and chapels decorated with the help of pictures and ornaments on the walls depicting episodes from the Bible. It is possible to trace in the picture The adoration of the Magi created by Peter Paul Rubens in 1624 which is currently exhibited at the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp, Belgium.
Relationship between Art Periods
General Tendencies. The period of Mannerism was a reaction to the high Renaissance while Baroque was the reaction to techniques and methods used by representatives of the Mannerism as a style.
Though naturalistic depiction of human bodies can be considered more similar to realistic manner of Renaissance, the artificiality of the entire organization of pictures is a clear evidence of the fact that Baroque emerged from and was greatly influenced by Mannerism.
Though the styles come in a clear historic sequence in terms of time as Mannerism was the style of the sixteenth century while Baroque was the style prominent from the late sixteenth to the early eighteenth century, it is necessary to put an emphasis on their way Baroque continued the style and characteristics of Mannerism.
The relationships between Mannerism and Baroque can be traced with the help of works of art that reflect the social conditions and key techniques used by artists of both eras. In other words, the era of Baroque can be considered as the continuation of Mannerism traits though it brought a lot of new tendencies due to the social conditions and movements typical of that time. Madonna with long neck (1534-1540) and The adoration of the Magi (1624) can be treated as examples of works created by representatives of the styles discussed.
Similarities and Differences. Though every style has its unique features, it is possible to identify similarities and differences even if one style emerged from another.
Similarities of Mannerism and Baroque include such characteristics as use of light and shade techniques, use of colors appropriate for the situation depicted in the picture with regard to the entire mood of the work, use of space and organization of objects so that the overall image matches the idea of the picture. The differences of two styles lie in the social conditions typical of the historical periods of these two styles.
Thus, Mannerism that followed High Renaissance was aimed at making the objects more artificial and intellectually sophisticated. Meanwhile, Baroque was a transition from Mannerism to Rococo and was aimed at pleasing taste of aristocratic and religious elite through depiction of Biblical stories and motives in pictures. In this respect, the social conditions made these styles different whereas their original characteristics were very similar.
Purpose for continuing the tradition. Madonna with long neck (1534-1540) created by Mazzola is the reflection of the Mannerism style because it shows an artificially intended image of Madonna who is supposed to hold a baby in her arms whereas the kid she holds in her arms is older than a baby from the original Biblical story that became inspiration for most paintings of different historical periods of art.
The adoration of the Magi (1624) created by Rubens is the reflection of the Baroque style because it is evident that the author has applied the most prominent techniques of Mannerism to this picture including naturalism of Renaissance. It is necessary to trace similar and different features in these pictures to learn more about the relation between Baroque and Mannerism.
The style of Baroque relates to the earlier style of Mannerism through the use of similar techniques in light and shade use, composition of objects, arrangement of space, and other peculiar features of Mannerism. At the same time, Baroque has prominent features of its own such as the use of rhetorical compositions and efforts to include as many characters into the story presented in the picture as possible.
In other words, the realistic look of people and objects in the pictures from Baroque is neutralized with the help of florid ornaments and drapes including exaggerated emphasis on the main characters. For instance, in the picture The adoration of the Magi, the author tried to highlight the figure of a woman with a baby; so, he used lighter colors and imposed less shades on this composition.
Historical Significance of Baroque
The historical significance of Baroque can be measured with the help of features of this style traced in successive styles and movements in art of later epochs.
Thus, numerous traits of Baroque can be traced in Rococo style which became a hyperbolized continuation of Baroque with ornate decorations and curve forms depicted in paintings. Moreover, the traits of Baroque influenced greatly all other styles that emerged from sensibility and great compositions, efficient use of space and color, and other characteristics that became prominent traits of style.
Reference List
Mazzola, Francesco. Madonna with long neck. 1534-1540. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.
Rubens, Peter Paul. The adoration of the Magi. 1624. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, Belgium.