“When a Mannerist artist breaks rules he does so on the basis of knowledge and not of ignorance. A considerable amount of North European architecture of the sixteenth century must be excluded for these reasons.” EuropeArchitectureMannerismSixteenth Century Book:Mannerism Source: Mannerism
“If we say that a person has style we may wish to imply that he is unnatural, affected, self-conscious or ostentatious. In the sixteenth century 'maniera' was generally a desirable attribute of a work of art, but this positive aspect was accompanied by the realization of the negative one that correspond to what we now call, derogatively, stylization.” StyleArt HistorySixteenth CenturyEuropean Art Book:Mannerism Source: Mannerism