Madonna dal Collo Longo (Madonna with the Long Neck)
1535
Renaissance, Mannerism
Oil on panel
Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

According to Gould Madonna dal Collo Longo is Parmigianino’s most characteristic and most extreme work. That a single piece can be most extreme and most characteristic illustrates the visionary artist Parmigianino was. The elongated figure of the Madonna reflects the grace and elegance of the artist’s style. The various limbs and their angles are placed relation to each other in a manner that is both harmonious and erotically charged; balanced yet asymmetrical. A radical statement for its time in the history of devotional art Parmigianino’s instincts were to kerb his creative indulgences, but not completely.
Parmigianino
Mannerism, Renaissance, Italian Renaissance
Born: 11 January 1503, Parma, Italy
Nationality: Italian
Died: 24 August 1540, Casalmaggiore, Italy
Parmigianino was one of the leading painters of Palma, he also worked in Rome and Bologna. Ranking as one of the most compelling artists with a daring and readiness to confront the orthodoxies of the day Parmigianino was a leading figure of the Mannerist style