Parmigianino
Parmigianino was an Italian Mannerist painter whose elongated figures, elegant gestures, and unusual perspectives helped define the movement's style.
Painter
Bartholomeus Spranger
Bartholomeus Spranger was a Flemish-born Northern Mannerist painter whose twisting figures and mythological scenes shaped Rudolf II’s Prague court style.
Bartholomeus Spranger quick facts
Spranger’s Italian training and Prague court career shaped his intricate Northern Mannerist paintings, which later circulated in prints across Europe.
| Full name | Bartholomeus Spranger |
|---|---|
| Born | 1546 · Antwerp, Habsburg Netherlands (now Belgium) |
| Died | 1611 · Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Czechia) |
| Nationality | Flemish (Netherlandish) |
| Movements | Northern Mannerism (Prague court) |
| Paint types | Oil Paint |
| Other media | — |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Wood (panels) · Copper (early oil paintings) |
| Painting methods | Develops intertwined figure groups through ink-and-wash studies, then paints smooth flesh tones and intricately rendered drapery in oil |
| Common subjects | Jupiter, Venus and Adonis, Hercules, courtly allegories, mythological lovers, and imperial ideals |
| Notable works | Jupiter and Antiope · Venus and Adonis · Neptune and Amphitrite |
Sources: The Met: Spranger exhibition and Jupiter and Antiope, oil on canvas, The Met: Spranger exhibition catalogue, painted works and supports, National Gallery: Spranger, Parmigianino influence and Prague career, The Met: Neptune and Amphitrite, pen-and-wash drawing, The Met: Print after Spranger by Jan Muller, not his oil painting.
Paint types used by Bartholomeus Spranger
Spranger used oil for intricate mythological court paintings; the examples focus on cataloged paintings and keep drawings separate from paint media.
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Oil paint
The Met catalogs Spranger’s Jupiter and Antiope (1596) as oil on canvas. Its intertwined mythological figures and elongated poses exemplify the courtly Mannerist painting he developed in Prague. Museum records document oil in other works as well, supporting this medium as the basis of his finished panel and canvas compositions.
Sources: The Met: Jupiter and Antiope.; The Met: Bartholomeus Spranger exhibition catalogue; National Gallery: Bartholomeus Spranger
Painting surfaces used by Bartholomeus Spranger
Spranger’s mythological paintings are documented on canvas, while pen-and-wash drawings are works on paper; the examples specify painted supports.
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Canvas
The Met records Spranger’s Jupiter and Antiope (1596) as oil on canvas, and other collection records document his paintings on the same support. The flexible textile surface carries his complex figure groupings and elongated Mannerist forms. These works distinguish canvas paintings from preparatory drawings and designs made on paper.
Sources: The Met: Spranger exhibition and Jupiter and Antiope, oil on canvas, The Met: Spranger exhibition catalogue, painted works and supports, National Gallery: Spranger, Parmigianino influence and Prague career, The Met: Neptune and Amphitrite, pen-and-wash drawing, The Met: Print after Spranger by Jan Muller, not his oil painting.
Painters similar to Bartholomeus Spranger
Parmigianino’s Italian figure style influenced Spranger, while Wtewael developed similarly intricate scenes for collectors and court patrons in Utrecht.
Joachim Wtewael
Joachim Wtewael was a Dutch Northern Mannerist painter celebrated for jewel-like oil paintings on copper, mythologies, biblical scenes, and portraits.