Parmig iA Momento to MannerismJanelle Crocker

Table Of ContentsOrigin & History

Research

Development

Construction

Samples

Application

The opportunity arose to create a typeface all of my own making. Excitedly I began to run through the possible base for my design. The beautiful facets of art history crept into my mind, and as I considered it, I began to realize that some time periods had typefaces associated with them. So, what better than to base a typeface on a time period, especially an art history period? Since I had recently enjoyed studying Mannerism, I found that there was no particular typeface associated with it. Thus, I thought would make for a good basis of an interesting typeface. Museums, galleries, and public art-related communications could use it for gallery or exhibition titles. It could be an expressive yet elegant display face.

Mannerism in art history is, according to dictionary.com, a “style in the fine arts developed principally in Europe during the sixteenth century, chiefly characterized by a complex perspectival system, elongation of forms, strained gestures or poses of figures, and intense color.” Mannerism was a reaction to and rejection of classicism and idealized naturalism found in Renaissance ideaology. It also echoed the tension and conflict that surfaced during this time of religious unrest from the Reformation’s initiation in 1517. The general span of this style was from around 1520-1600. Mannerism revolved around oddities, quirkiness, elegance, and expressiveness.

Origin & HistoryOrigin History

Elegant

Quirky

Artistic

In his Entombment, Pontormo used the desaturated and pastel colors that Mannerist artists used. He also displayed the intense emotion in each figure, even if they were not facing the viewer. This is magnified through the figure’s lightweight feel; they all appear to float, which was a hallmark of Pontormo’s style.

Bronzino used the strangeness of Mannerism to the extreme in this piece, the Allegory of Venus and Cupid. It emphasizes the polished elongated forms and striking oddities characterizing the Mannerist style.

ResearchPontormo Bronzino

Parmigianino was one of the most important Mannerist painters. His Madonna with the Long Neck exemplifies the colors, sytle, elongation, and strangeness of the time period. Parmigi echoes several shapes in the painting and the general color palatte. The core DNA of the typeface draws upon this painting specifically.

Parmigianino

Unnatural poses, postitions, & gesturesDesaturated or pastel colorsEmotional and expressiveMovementLess balanceElongated forms, especially fingers

Odd counters & negative spacePastel colors of the face and/or its surroundingDramatic thick to thin contrastLong thin formsLighter weightTall x-height

DevelopmentTraits of Mannerism

Shapes in Paintings

Translated: Typeface Qualities

Oa h P

f tYkHo o

oo o o

oo

How this: made the alphabet.

The O has the same width and height as the X.It’s curve is in almost every letter: the bowl of the P, the counter of the a, the crossbar of the majuscule H, and the shoulder of the miniscule h are just a few.

ConstructionTHE KEY

Drawn from:

Mind your Mannerism

Majuscules

A B C D E F

G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T

U V W X Y Z

Miniscules

a b c d e f

g h i j k l m

n o p q r s t

u v w x y z

Numerals

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

0

Punctuation

“ . , ’ ; : *

\ / _ [ ] ( )

& % $ ! ?

= + - #

captivating

strangeness

the

beautifu l

odd

Images from Marilyn Stokstad’s Art History vol. 2 and google images.

A small example of one way to utilize Parmigi for a gallery.

The Artery Gal lery

Elegance Eccentricity Artistic Oddity Art History Sixteenth Century Emotional Conflict Reformation Colorful Pastel Mannerism Gallery Museum Diginified Expressive Quirky

Romantic Sophisticated Fancy Paint Parmigianino Pontormo

Elegance Eccentricity Artistic Oddity Art History Sixteenth Century Emotional Conflict Reformation Colorful Pastel Mannerism Gallery Museum Diginified Expressive Quirky

Romantic Sophisticated Fancy Paint Parmigianino Pontormo

Parmigi© 2013Janelle Crocker