Mannerist artists began to reject the harmony and ideal proportions of the Renaissance in favor of irrational settings, artificial colors, unclear subject matters, and elongated forms.
Mannerism emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance, and is notable for its sophisticated and artificial qualities.
Mannerist sculpture, like Mannerist painting, was characterized by elongated forms, spiral angles, twisting poses, and aloof subject gazes.
During the Mannerist period, architects experimented with using architectural forms to emphasize solid and spatial relationships. They did so by deliberately playing with the symmetry, order, and harmony typically found in Renaissance architecture.
Mannerism concerned many Catholic leaders in the wake of the Reformation, as they were seen as lacking pious appeal.