potting the composition with angular elements are" (11). The cross and ladders add to the geometry of the painting and aid in the tangency of forms. Shearman explains that the title Mannerism creates the illusion that it was a conscious movement like one of the 19th or 20th centuries. Mannerism didnt have a focus, the artists werent working toward a common goal. The artists of Mannerism were influenced by all that came before them: antiquity, their predecessors and artistic peers, but Mannerists were most importantly looking toward the future and their own imaginations. Artists were for the first time were creating art for the sake of art. The goal of art was no longer intended completely as social or religious propaganda to be determined by the patron. Mannerist art was influenced by imagination and based on fantasy, and it was largely aimed at the enjoyment of an audience. ...
