Maybe I'll talk about culinary art next time hehe. Everybody loves food.
Ok here we go
It may be offensive to some people. Caution.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I find Mannerism interesting, but i'm not exactly very fond of it.
The chiaroscuro and the colour is very smooth and pretty, which i have to admit. But the drawing style...nmmm. Twisting human figures in a way of exaggeration is good, but I don't like the fact that it became the norm or convention of how people judge a piece of art. I mean how can people judge and get famous just because they do well in this particular type of art???
I saw many pieces of Mannerism art that they all kind of look the same in the enlongated body and the S curve. The figura serpentinata is getting old after seeing some of them, same with the contrapposto pose in ancient Greek art.
The Madonna with the Long Neck is one of them which I am not very fond of:
The baby Christ's serpent figura serpentinata is very unnatural. His arm is dangling off from his mother's legs, his entire body is twisted and enlongated that he does not look like a proper baby, either of magnificence or innocence. His body seems to be falling off any second from his mother's laps. And his mother is literally supporting her child with one arm that's not even half way down his back. I know how Mary's expression and body gesture is showing how proud she is, but isn't this proud going a little bit too far?? I mean, she is more willing to put her fingers on her chest to illustrate proud than to secure her child's safety??
Personally, I think this painting neglected the mother and child relationship to put emphasis on the religious perspective. That, to me, is not a good thing. I've always thought of Madonna and Child as something that's personal, that's intimate. Mary carefully cradle her baby in her arms with a motherly smile on her face, and not......this.
But on the other hand, I think the Rape of Sabine Women is an impressive piece.
It illustrated the fear and brutality very well. And in this case, the figura serpentinata is well-used. These conventions are supposed to enhance the painting and not be the centre of purpose. The twisted bodies of women are reasonable because they are either being beaten up or getting raped. And the elongated features looks more natural because of the chaos and fear within the women.
This is a nice touch.
Well, whether we like it or not, Mannerism has been here in history, and it had been the norm once, so we cannot change anything, can we?
