Madonna of the Long Neck

Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jerome

1535-1540

Parmigianino

Commons

Parmigianino is perhaps the greatest Mannerist painter for not only does he capture the extreme elegance and beautifully exaggerated art taken from art and nature he also captures the mannerists willful complicating of the body as seen in his 1535-1540 piece Madonna and Child with Angels and St. Jerome more commonly referred to as The Madonna of the Long Neck.

Unlike the calm and peaceful Madonnas that Raphael painted, Parmigianino's painting gives more of a sense of abandon and movement. The subject of this piece is derived from medieval hymns that compared the Virgin's neck to a great ivory column. This column can also tie into a symbolic column representing the foundation on which the Catholic Church stands.  The Madonna of the Long Neck  shows the Madonna, seated on a high pedestal and clothed in beautiful robes, holding the baby Jesus on her lap. To the left of the picture are four angels crowded around the Madonna, looking admiringly on Christ. On the right are a row of marble columns and the disproportionally small figure of St. Jerome.

Here the illusionism that was in service of the High Renaissance is being used here to deform and distort the body. The Madonna does not have normal human proportions; her neck, shoulders and fingers have all been elongated to make her appear more elegant and graceful. The proportions rendered in this painting are most similar to those shown in Michelangelo’s Pieta with the Virgins enlarged thighs and the contortion of the arm of the Christ child. Indeed, the child appears more alive than dead which could be an allusion to his eventual death and resurrection. Continuing with the distortion of space, instead of giving a sense of equilibrium and balance to his arrangement, Parmigianino has chosen to pack all the angels claustrophobically to the left of the Madonna. Yet, the space to the right of her is open, except for the tall figure of St Jerome who has been so reduced in size he only just about reaches the Madonna's knee. Overall, it is Parmigianino’s perspective and knowing  reconfiguration of the figures that elevate him to one of the greatest Mannerist artists.