Page "Mannerism" Paragraph 19

Giorgio Vasari's opinions about the art of painting come through in his praise of fellow artists in the great book that lay behind this frontispiece: he believed that excellence in painting demanded refinement, richness of invention ( invenzione ), expressed through virtuoso technique ( maniera ), and wit and study that appeared in the finished work, all criteria that emphasized the artist's intellect and the patron's sensibility.

The artist was now no longer just a craftsman member of a local Guild of St Luke.

Now he took his place at court with scholars, poets, and humanists, in a climate that fostered an appreciation for elegance and complexity.

The coat-of-arms of Vasari's Medici patrons appear at the top of his portrait, quite as if they were the artist's own.