The sum of the parts. Recycling antiquities in the Maniera workshops of Salviati and his colleagues

Résumé En

Theoretical concepts associated with Mannerist style are directly connected to specific workshop practices. Artists in the circle of Salviati shared, reinterpreted, and then recycled antique statues and their parts primarily by means of drawings, but also through the use of three-dimensional casts, models and small-scale copies in various materials. Not denigrated as a sign of dryness, lack of originality, or banality these techniques were considered a necessary stage in the artist’s attainment of his unique style. Deviation from and variations on motifs in the works of admired artists was seen as a confirmation both of artistic freedom (licenzia) and artistic free will (libero arbitrio). The immediate goal of copying was to amass a repertoire from which « concetti » could be formulated ; preoccupation with small details assured precise replication as well as the transmission of «bellezza » from antiquity to the sixteenth century. The author makes certain assumptions as to what works were considered legitimate substitutes for antiquity and how the transference to two-dimensions conditioned stylistic criteria.