Paperback. Black title and portrait image on the cream cover.

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Please view the photographs. A solid and very readable book.

John Shearman’s classic explores the most characteristic traits of an otherwise elusive artistic phenomenon in a refreshing, accessible and clear-cut manner. A great amount of erudition is concentrated in a pocket sized, well-illustrated edition. For any student of Mannerism who requires an introduction to the subject this book is invaluable. A word of caution though – as Shearman himself states, Mannerism is so ambiguous a term as to require a definition every time it is approached. Shearman’s position is that of an art historian who is less than keen to explore Mannerism as a spiritual or psychological phenomenon, an expression of a proto-modern sense of alienation (for that, one should look at Max Dvorak or Arnold Hauser). Shearman in contrast sees Mannerism mainly in terms of its earthly qualities, relating it to the historical aspects of social and cultural life in the sixteenth century.