Blog Post 1: Parmigianino

Parmigianino’s meticulous style went a long way to be a part of how Italian art was finally accepted in high society. In contrast to current and traditional beauty of the time, Parmigianino preferred to defy these well-established rules to express what surprising effects could be achieved. To show that he did not believe in conventional harmonies, one of his most talked about paintings is the epitome of his own unique style, ‘Madonna with a Long Neck’.

‘Madonna with a Long Neck’ earned its name due to Parmigianino’s ambition to make the Holy Virgin look graceful and elegant by giving her a swan-like neck. He stretches and lengthens the human body’s proportion, as if looking through a distorted lens. Some find it almost offensive because of how the sacred subject is treated.

In unity with the unnatural forms, the arrangements of the painting also shows his skepticism in conventional harmonies. Instead of evenly distributing the figures on both sides of the madonna, he wedged a crowd of angels into the corner, and left the other side wide open. 

Parmigianino had a method to his madness. He wanted to be unorthodox, to show that the traditional approach is not the only solution. Parmigianino is consistent in his work, as he consciously desired to create something new and unexpected even if that meant defying the ‘natural’ beauty conventions already established during this period of time.