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Parmigianino
Madonna with the Long Neck
Madonna with the Long Neck
Parmigianino
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, known throughout his artistic career as Parmigianino (a nickname meaning 'the little one from Parma'), was one of the Italian Renaissance's great geniuses. He was one of the first artists to develop the elegant and sophisticated version of Mannerist style. As an artist he was not afraid to push boundaries and break with convention; it was this daring streak that paved the way for other bold artists to continue in the same vein and create work which would be called 'modern' for decades after. Contemporary art critics christened Parmigianino the 'Prince of Mannerism'.
During his short career, Parmigianino completed a vast body of work, including small panels and large-scale frescoes, sacred and profane subjects, portraits, and drawings of scenes from everyday life and of erotica. He is also credited with inventing etching and was one of the first artists to engrave his own work, distributing it throughout Italy and northern Europe.
Parmigianino widened his circle of influence dramatically because of his involvement in printmaking; through this media his work was copied, and circulated to many artistic schools and far-flung countries where it could be studied and admired. As one of the first Italian etchers he had a dramatic effect on graphic art and printmaking. Furthermore, as an experimental, nonconformist artist he paved the way for other daring painters. Many Venetian artists such as Jacopo Bassano and Paolo Veronese tended to incorporate Parmigianino's high emotions and sense of movement and drama.
Critical perception to Parmigianino has most definitely evolved over time and perhaps falls into two main strands: early critics who saw his work as exaggerated creations in order to challenge the artistic masters of his day and later critics who view it as an effort to translate the spiritual confusions of a turbulent era of history.