Произведения немецкого художественного серебра XVI – начала XVII веков и проблема маньеризма

The article deals with several characteristic features of Mannerism as it manifested itself in the art of German silversmiths in the second half of the 16th century. It places particular emphasis on the reception of the decorative motifs originating in Italian Renaissance art, as well as the influence of the school of Fontainebleau. The author examines the various types of ornament, adopted by the silversmiths of Nurnberg and Augsburg, the manner of interpreting the ancient legacy, the means of the transmitting the new artistic forms and ideas, and the peculiarity of the development of styles in German-speaking regions, which is evidenced by the persistence of the late Gothic forms, as well as in the “neo-Gothic” trend of the end of the 16th century. The study of silverware enables us, on the one hand, to demonstrate the origins of Mannerism, which had its roots in the art of the Renaissance and can be with good reason described as the “late Renaissance”. The works of the silversmiths also reveal the long-lasting popularity of Mannerism in Northern Europe, where some of its features remained in vogue until the last decades of the 17th century.