The Mannerist Mind

Book excerpt: Departing from a discussion on what it would be a mannerist attitude in the architecture of today, and theorizing around it, this book analyzes some works of contemporary European practices including Lutjens Padmanabhan, architekten de vylder vinck taillieu, TEd’A, Maio, 6a architects and AOffice KGDVS. Art critics between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries imprinted a long-standing derogatory meaning to the word “mannerism”. Even though scholars such as John Shearman or Wolfgang Lotz rehabilitated the term to a certain degree during the twentieth century, it is still uncommon nowadays to find the expression “mannerist” used without certain pejorative connotations. This book provides a contemporary revision of the mannerist attitude for the present, creating a framework to analyze and shed light not only on the work that these practices are carrying out, but also on the less evident filiations and affinities, as well as on their deeper implications.