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3 | 23 | '23 # brief sketch of mannerism

// I'm writing this as a sort of preemptive exercise for something bigger, and so it's necessarily inchoate (or, not impelled by the need to focus). I had my first formal encounter with mannerism as a freshman in high school when my Art I teacher taught us a sort of naive art theory~history. In my senior year of high school, I had a rapturous artistic experience in the form of my AP Art History class, where mannerism was introduced in discussions of Fra Angelico's Annunciation (pictured), which I would have the opportunity to see in all its ultramarine brilliance during a trip to the Museo del Prado that summer. During that trip, I took spirited notes on the composition, making especial comment of the alluring perspective of the columns, augmented by a late-night literary sketch of a contemporary Gabriel visiting a contemporary Mary cum Southern belle on the porch of a Southern farmhouse. Fra Angelico's Annunciation, courtesy of Museo del Prado Image Bank In later (also late-night) art history deep dives, Mannerism was often discussed in terms of the body, with particular concern given to the smoothness of its figures and the care given to obfuscate the hand of the artist. It's difficult to ignore the skill involved in rendering the diaphanous cloth and delicate ornamentation of its figures, mostly for religious purposes. Perino del Vaga's Nativity exemplifies these qualities. Perino del Valga's Nativity, courtesy of National Gallery of Art (USA) Then I discovered Titian's Venus and Adonis, though I unfortunately did not see it when I was in Madrid. I'll leave an image of it here. Titian's Venus and Adonis, courtesy of Museo del Prado Image Bank This image has made a profound impact on me, particularly for its portrayal of sexuality and its unusual eroticism. Even now, "post-sexual liberation" (whatever that means), the image retains its original attitude of a near pornographic depiction of tragic love protected from the usual slander by the auspices of royal and art institutions. It's in this context that we see Titian's risqué portrayals of then-censored Greek mythology canonized and uplifted, and I can't help but balk at discussions of his artistic skill deployed whenever, say, The Rape of Europa is brought up. I'll continue this later. Til next time, Jacob

3 | 21 | '23 # test message

Currently writing this when I should be doing a very large project that I have not yet started, part of which is due tn! I should be set to make substantial changes to the css file(s) after this week, so hopefully I can adjust these margins and spaces (edit: mostly done.). I would briefly like to say, I love my friends. That's all, Jacob