The Philosophy of Mannerism: From Aesthetics to Modal Metaphysics

Examining afresh the
16th-century style of mannerism, Sjoerd van Tuinen synthesises
philosophy and aesthetics to demonstrate not only the contemporary relevance
of mannerism but its broader significance as a form of modal thinking.

Beyond a style of art that
spurned the balance and proportion of earlier Renaissance painting in favour
of compositional instability and tension, this book looks a-historically at
mannerism to investigate what it can tell us about continental modal
metaphysics, focusing in particular on its artificial and what Van Tuinen
calls ‘secondary’ nature.

In three main parts, Van
Tuinen first explores the ontology, aesthetics and ethics of mannerism. He
then develops this through an extended study of Leibniz as a modal
and indeed mannerist philosopher, before outlining in the final part a
(neo)-mannerist aesthetics that incorporates diagrammatics, alchemy and
contemporary technologies of speculative design.

Drawing on Bergson, Simondon,
Deleuze, Stengers and Agamben, together with artworks from Lomazzo to
Arcimboldo, The Philosophy of Mannerism uncovers
the rich new pathways created by the combination of philosophy, art history
and contemporary theory.