"Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror," Parmigianino, 1523-4.
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, aka Parmigianino (1503-1540) was a pioneer of the Mannerist style, which was a gentle exaggeration and distortion of the more fussy proportions of Renaissance art. Here, we see him doing a self-portrait distorted by a convex mirror
Parmigianino was a monstrously talented artist whose career was disrupted by war and political upheavals, but who did achieve quite a bit of recognition in his own time. He was an inventive painter who also experimented with printmaking and etching, and reportedly was also an alchemist. He died young, only 37, of a fever.
Still, a fascinating portrait, and rather revolutionary for its time. He painted it when he was only 21, and gave it to Pope Clement VII. Apparently it was later passed on to the famous/infamous author, satirist, and early gay-rights pioneer Pietro Aretino. One wonders how Aretino, who was known to dabble in sexual blackmail, convinced the Vatican to give it to him....
From the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
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