Editing Mannerism (section)

==Nomenclature==
[[File:Laocoön and his sons group.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Model for Mannerism: ''[[Laocoön and His Sons]]'', an ancient sculpture, rediscovered in 1506; now in the [[Vatican Museums]]. The artists of Mannerism greatly admired this piece of sculpture.<ref name="ReferenceC" />]]

The word "Mannerism" derives from the Italian ''maniera'', meaning "style" or "manner". Like the English word "style", ''maniera'' can either indicate a specific type of style (a beautiful style, an abrasive style) or indicate an absolute that needs no qualification (someone "has style").<ref>
John Shearman, "Maniera as an Aesthetic Ideal", in Cheney 2004, p. 37.</ref> In the second edition of his ''[[Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects]]'' (1568), [[Giorgio Vasari]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Artist Info |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.3269.html |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=www.nga.gov}}</ref> used ''maniera'' in three different contexts: to discuss an artist's manner or method of working; to describe a personal or group style, such as the term ''maniera greca'' to refer to the medieval [[Italo-Byzantine]] style or simply to the ''maniera'' of Michelangelo; and to affirm a positive judgment of artistic quality.<ref>Cheney 1997, p. 17.<!--The pagination may be different in the 1997 edition from the 2004 one found as the main entry in the reference list. Be sure the right one is being cited. Ideally, only one edition should be cited unless there is information in the earlier missing in the later edition.--></ref> Vasari was also a Mannerist artist, and he described the period in which he worked as "la maniera moderna", or the "modern style".{{sfn|Briganti|1962|p=6}} James V. Mirollo describes how "Bella maniera" poets attempted to surpass in virtuosity the sonnets of [[Petrarch]].{{sfn|Mirollo|1984|p={{Page needed|date=June 2010}}}} This notion of "Bella maniera" suggests that artists who were thus inspired looked to copying and bettering their predecessors, rather than confronting nature directly. In essence, "Bella maniera" utilized the best from several source materials, synthesizing it into something new.{{sfn|Mirollo|1984|p={{Page needed|date=June 2010}}}}

As a stylistic label, "Mannerism" is not easily defined. It was used by Swiss historian [[Jacob Burckhardt]] and popularized by German [[Art history|art historians]] in the early 20th century to categorize the seemingly uncategorizable art of the Italian 16th century—art that was no longer found to exhibit the harmonious and rational approaches associated with the High Renaissance. "High Renaissance" connoted a period distinguished by harmony, grandeur, and the revival of classical antiquity. The term "Mannerist" was redefined in 1967 by [[John Shearman]]{{sfn|Shearman|1967}} following the exhibition of Mannerist paintings organised by [[Fritz Grossmann]] at [[Manchester Art Gallery|Manchester City Art Gallery]] in 1965.{{sfn|Grossmann|1965}}

Yet historians differ as to whether Mannerism is a style, a movement, or a period. Some authors have called it the "Late Renaissance".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Moffett|first1=Marian|last2=Fazio|first2=Michael W.|last3=Wodehouse|first3=Lawrence|title=A World History of Architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IFMohetegAcC&pg=PT330|year=2003|publisher=Laurence King Publishing|isbn=978-1-85669-371-4|page=330}}; {{cite book|last=Bousquet|first=Jacques|title=Mannerism: The Painting and Style of the Late Renaissance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nHzqAAAAMAAJ|year=1964|publisher=Braziller}}</ref> Although the term remains controversial, it is still commonly used to identify European art and culture in the 16th century.<ref>
Cheney{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}<!--Two different editions of Cheney are cited in this article; the year of the edition meant here is needed.-->, "Preface", xxv–xxxii, and Manfred Wundram, "Mannerism," ''Grove Art Online''. Oxford University Press, [accessed 23 April 2008].</ref>