Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino (Interpretation and Analysis)

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Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino
Madonna with the Long Neck
Source: Google Cultural Institute
Today, I want to talk about a very strange painting: the Madonna with the Long Neck. In my opinion, it’s one of the most delightfully weird pieces of its time.

The style of the painting is distinctly Mannerist. Mannerism was a style that emerged in the 16th century as a reaction against the Renaissance obsession with proportionality and naturalism. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes it as “characterized by artificiality and artiness, by a thoroughly self-conscious cultivation of elegance and technical facility, and by a sophisticated indulgence in the bizarre,” noting that Mannerists believed that Renaissance artists fixated on style to the detriment of the subject matter. This approach is almost Medieval in that it privileges the signified over the signifier.

Mannerist artists used their exaggerated, artificial style to draw a reaction from the viewer. This is very obvious in the Madonna with the Long Neck (which is actually titled Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jerome). As the name suggests, the painting depicts a distorted Virgin Mary; her neck is unnaturally long and her body is colossally oversized. She dwarfs the figure of Saint Jerome and the angels that surround her. The Christ Child lies on her lap. His pallor and sprawling position are almost corpse-like, evoking a Pieta and foreshadowing Christ’s death on the Cross. On the whole, the painting is visually unsettling. This is very intentional; Parmigianino uses the unbalanced nature of his composition to draw attention to the divinity of the Virgin and the Christ Child.

However, there are elements of the Renaissance here, particularly the use of classical scenery and meticulously attention to the folds of the cloth and drapery. Although artistic movements are often reactionary, they also build on what has come before. Art does not exist in a vacuum.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

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