An easy invitation to sensuality, an open acceptance of violence, and a heated discourse on religion - one might say that these are almost exactly the things that make the world go around in the 21st century. The newest print exhibit at the Bayly Art Museum brings the truth crashing back down round our senses: These are the very elements that have driven humanity for generations, long before the days of soap operas and blood-thirsty blockbusters. True passion has always existed in human nature - now students can see it on exhibit through March 28 at the Bayly Art Museum.
"Virgins, Gods, Saints and Lovers: Strangeness and Style in Mannerist Prints" opened Jan. 20, and while these 16th-century prints give credence to eternal notions of ardor, they also are echoes of their own time. Resulting from an extended period of religious and political upheaval, a new style of art began to take form.
Mannerism (as it since has been titled) relies both on contemporary battle scenes and the inspiration of ancient literary sources. The artists of this period are obsessed with the macabre and the indecent. There often is a very purposeful ambiguity between the religious subject matter and its portrayal. Beyond depicting such diverse images, these artists also sought to distance themselves from the ugliness of upheaval. Mannerism is most often defined as the tendency towards stylistic details. Artists emphasize exaggerated gestures, odd lighting and contrived poses of the human body.
The works currently on display at the Bayly are prime examples of the maniera style, but they also are meticulous works of printmaking. These artists altered the style to their own talents, often mastering the use of the burin, an instrument used to carve lines of varying thickness into a metal plate. While the art was previously used as a method of mass media, these 16th-century printmakers perfected the art and elevated it to the status of wealthy consumption.
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Giovanni Battista Scultari's work, entitled "Trojans Driving the Greeks Back to their Ships," is an ideal example of such patronage. The lack of depth in this work, coupled with the horror vacui style (evidenced by extreme amounts of gore), leaves very little vacant space in the work. Such a print is clearly intended for a wealthy buyer, one who would have the time to intensely explore its hidden treasures.
Cornelius Cort's subjects are much more reflective of his own time, and "Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence" perfectly combines the triumph of Christianity with the violence of recent upheavals. A master of cross-hatching, Cort also developed schwellende taille, a style that varies the thickness of lines and manages to capture the colore techniques of the legendary Mannerist, Titian.
In the end, most 16th-century works are in some way a rebellion or an escape, although the exhibit also explores sexual pleasure. In Johannes Sadeler's "Nocturnal Banquet," a Latin inscription blatantly reads: "Wine and women lead intelligent men astray and the man who consorts with prostitutes is reckless." Such a depiction of passion is in some sense delightful, but it also is clear evidence of contemporary torment.
Images of sex, violence and religious torment inundate the works of these 16th- century printmakers. Perhaps the lives of these Mannerist artists at first seem shocking, until we take a good look at our own forms of culture. Maybe instead of turning on our favorite engrossing soap opera or martial arts flick, we should all take at least one look at the Bayly Art exhibit. The same emphasis is there - and at least an art exhibit offers a fa
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