Bailey Davis Parmigianino Towards the end of the sixteenth century, Italy had witnessed an artistic high from

the hands of artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Art was certainly at its peak, and many wondered what artists or styles of art could rival such prodigies. Artists following this time period had to figure out a method by which they could surface from the shadows of such Renaissance heroes, and boldly define their own style of art. Mannerism emerged as the solution to this predicament, where accentuation and extremeness of elegance through distortion and perplexing compositions took hold. Francesco Mazzola, more frequently known as Parmigianino, was an artist who grasped the idea of mannerism and immaculately exhibited it in his artwork. One of his most famous paintings, The Madonna with the Long Neck, is especially intriguing. At first glance, this painting appears to be fairly representative and true to form; however, when more closely analyzed, one realizes that the composition of the piece is both eccentric and odd. For example, the proportions of the painting, and in particular the Madonnas proportions, are not true to scale. The Madonnas neck, torso, and fingers are extremely long compared to the rest of her body. Even the Christ who lies on her lap is abnormally large in style. Unlike their contemporaries, mannerist artists such as Parmigianino were not concerned with realistic paintings and the perfection of the body. Parmigianino cleverly incorporated such detail and other mechanisms to draw attention to certain aspects of the work, thereby aiding to guide the viewers eyes through the piece. The center focus of the painting is, of course, the Madonna and the Christ child. The small figure of St. Jerome in the background is holding a scroll, which points toward the Madonna, as do the gazes of the angels adjacent to her. Furthermore, the Madonna herself stares down at the Christ child who rests on her lap. In this way, our eyes are conducted to notice the least important to the most important characteristics of the piece. Noticing the Madonnas hand gesture, which is placed on her heart, implies that she has compassion for the Christ child, and that she holds Him and His sacrifice dear to her heart. The color scheme of the painting is also interesting. Parmigianino integrates bright and vibrant colors for the majority of the characters in the piece, with the exception of the Christ child. Both the Madonna and the angels to the left, have a flush and rosy color to their cheeks, signifying life and mortality. Whereas, the Christ child is painted with solemn greys and colors which offer an aura of death. It is conceivable to observe that Parmigianino may have been attempting to state that as a result of Christ dying for our sins, all individuals have the chance to be made alive, and ultimately, saved through Christ. In a way, this painting reflects Michelangelos work, Pieta. The Pieta is a depiction of Mary cradling Christs dead body on her lap. The parallels between Parmigianinos The Madonna with the Long Neck and Michelangelos Pieta are fascinating and remarkable to say the least. It is almost to say that Parmigianino had such a great deal of respect for Michelangelo and his work that he wanted to emulate it through art. In both pieces of artwork, the center figures, Mary and the Madonna, are exaggerated in style. Specifically, both have wide hips who cradle the Christ. In both works, the portrayal of Christ and His sacrifice is paramount to the piece. Additionally, the left arm of Christ, and the way it hangs lifeless from the body in both works is significant. It seems to represent the end of Christs suffering, and the completion of His mission, that is, the Atonement. Perhaps the lifeless arm is meant to serve as a reminder of this great sacrifice and to bring hope to all that we can be saved through His grace.