Fra Bartolommeo is established as the leading painter in Florence by 1510.

The influential Sandro Botticelli, who has apparently worked little since the 1494 expulsion of the Medici from Florence and seems to have suffered extreme financial hardship, dies at sixty-five on May 17, 1510.

Although Florentine painting began to move rapidly in new directions after 1500, Botticelli’s most gifted pupil, Filippino Lippi, son of his first teacher, had carried his style into the next generation.

Andrea del Sarto's San Filippo Benizzi fresco series, executed in 1510 for the atrium of Santissima Annunziata in Florence, owe their fantastic landscapes to the conservative style of Piero di Cosimo, who has has become known as a painter of charming mythological scenes such as Venus, Mars and Cupid, (now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany).

The haunting painting variously known as The Death of Procris, A Satyr mourning over a Nymph or simply as A Mythological Subject is an unsigned and undated panel painting in the National Gallery in London, United Kingdom, securely attributed to Piero di Cosimo (who never signs his works).

Its date is uncertain, and its subject has been a matter of dispute.

The name The Death of Procris (Italian: Morte di Procri) has been used since the nineteenth century, and is supposed to have been inspired by Ovid's tale of the death of Procris at the hands of her husband Cephalus, in Metamorphoses VII.

The National Gallery has rejected this title since at least Cecil Gould's catalogue of 1951, since when it has preferred to describe the subject as "A Mythological Subject" or "A Satyr mourning over a Nymph".

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the subject matter, the painting, which shows a satyr mourning over the body of a young woman, has been one of the most popular works by Piero di Cosimo.

Fra Bartolommeo's “The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine,” a large altarpiece painted in 1511 in his monumentalized style, combines faultless technique, complex spatial organization, and subtle use of color.

Bartolommeo’s works typically blend the geometrical compositions developed in the fifteenth century with the classical figural style that he helped to develop from Leonardo's work.

Andrea del Sarto develops new classical interests and makes greater use of sfumato.

He begins in 1511 to paint his grisaille frescoes in the Chiostro dello Scalzo.

Jacopo Sansovino, while in Rome, had attracted the notice of Bramante and Raphael and made a wax model of the Deposition of Christ for Perugino to use.

He returns in 1511 to Florence, where he receives commissions for marble sculptures of St. James for the Duomo and a Bacchus, now in the Bargello.

His “Saint James”, considered the finest of all the statues contributed to that building, derives from Andrea’s “Baptist,” but indicates the influence of both Michelangelo and Raphael.

The figure’s more twisted posture and the heavier, ornamental drapery add High Renaissance overtones.

The brotherhood of the Servites engages Andrea del Sarto to do two more frescoes in the forecourt of the Annunziata: a Procession of the Magi (or Adoration, containing a self-portrait) finished in 1511.

Towards 1512 he paints a psychologically animated Annunciation in the monastery of S. Gallo and a Marriage of Saint Catherine (Dresden).

Italian diplomat, historian, and political thinker Francesco Guicciardini serves the Florentine Republic in 1512 as ambassador to the court of Ferdinand II of Aragon.

Andrea del Sarto paints another of his psychologically animated portraits, “Birth of the Virgin,” for the cloisters of Santissima Annunziata in 1514.

Andrea del Sarto was born Andrea d'Agnolo di Francesco di Luca di Paolo del Migliore in Florence on July 16, 1486.

Since his father, Agnolo, was a tailor (sarto), he became known as "del Sarto" ("tailor's son").

Since 1677 some have attributed the surname Vannucchi with little documentation.

By 1494 Andrea was apprenticed to a goldsmith, and then to a woodcarver and painter named Gian Barile, with whom he remained until 1498.

According to Vasari, he then apprenticed to Piero di Cosimo, and later with Raffaellino del Garbo (Carli).

Andrea and an older friend, Franciabigio, decided in 1508 to open a joint studio at a lodging together in the Piazza del Grano.

The first product of their partnership may have been the Baptism of Christ for the Florentine Compagnia dello Scalzo, the beginning of a monochrome fresco series.

By the time the partnership was dissolved, Sarto's style bore the stamp of individuality.

From 1509 to 1514 the brotherhood of the Servites had employed Sarto, Franciabigio, and Andrea Feltrini in a program of frescoes at Basilica della Santissima Annunziata di Firenze.

Sarto completed three frescoes in the portico of the Servite convent illustrating the Life of Filippo Benizzi, a Servite saint who died in 1285.

He executed them rapidly, depicting the saint sharing his cloak with a leper, cursing some gamblers, and restoring a girl possessed with a devil.

These paintings have met with respect, the correctness of the contours being particularly admired, and earned for Sarto the nickname of "Andrea senza errori" (Andrea the perfect).

After these, the painter depicted in two frescoes the death of S. Filippo and then children cured by touching his garment; all five works were completed before the close of 1510.

The Servites engaged him to do two more frescoes in the forecourt of the Annunziata: a Procession of the Magi (or Adoration, containing a self-portrait) finished in 1511.

Towards 1512 he painted an Annunciation in the monastery of S. Gallo and a Marriage of Saint Catherine (Dresden).

Andrea had finished his last two frescoes by 1514, including his masterpiece, the Birth of the Virgin, which fuses the influence of Leonardo, Ghirlandaio and Fra Bartolomeo.

By November 1515 he had finished at the Scalzo the Allegory of Justice and the Baptist preaching in the desert.

Mediterranean Southwest Europe (1516–1527 CE): Cultural Crisis, Mannerism, and Jewish Flourishing

The era 1516–1527 CE in Mediterranean Southwest Europe witnesses a significant cultural shift marked by the emergence of Mannerism, a crisis of artistic confidence, and the thriving of Jewish communities in central Italy.

Artistic Crisis and the Rise of Mannerism

By the early 16th century, young artists face a profound crisis, perceiving that Renaissance art had already reached a pinnacle of technical perfection. With anatomical precision, refined expressions of emotion, and mastery of perspective seemingly exhausted by masters such as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Andrea del Sarto, artists begin seeking new forms of expression.

Mannerism emerges in response to this artistic saturation. Characterized by exaggerated proportions, heightened emotionality, and intentional complexity, Mannerist artworks diverge from classical ideals. The term derives from the Italian maniera, denoting a sophisticated or artificial style, and is embraced by Giorgio Vasari, who later describes this phase as la maniera moderna ("the modern style").

Flourishing Jewish Communities

Despite continued persecutions elsewhere, Jewish life flourishes in central Italy during this period, particularly in Mantua, which boasts Italy’s second-largest Jewish community after Venice. Other vibrant centers include Urbino, Ferrara, Florence, Spoleto, Siena, and Ancona. These communities become significant cultural and intellectual hubs, providing sanctuary and fostering scholarship, religious study, and artistic contributions.

Intellectual and Cultural Legacy

This period symbolizes a critical turning point, reflecting a broader European shift from classical Renaissance ideals to more complex and self-conscious cultural expressions. The contrast between artistic anxiety and cultural flourishing within specific communities encapsulates the multifaceted character of this transformative era, setting the stage for further intellectual and artistic evolution in Mediterranean Southwest Europe.

Young artists are beginning to experience a crisis by the end of the High Renaissance, as it seems that everything that can be achieved has already been achieved. and that no more difficulties, technical or otherwise, remain to be solved.

The detailed knowledge of anatomy, light, physiognomy and the way in which humans register emotion in expression and gesture, the innovative use of the human form in figurative composition, the use of the subtle gradation of tone, all have reached near perfection.

Mannerism starts to emerge at this point.

The new style develops between 1510 and 1520 either in Florence, or in Rome, or in both cities simultaneously.

This period has been described as a 'natural extension' of the art of Andrea del Sarto, Michelangelo, and Raphael.

Anticlassical tendencies begin to manifest themselves in Roman art before the death of Raphael in 1520, which marks the close of the so-called High Renaissance painting style.

In paintings executed in the late Renaissance style sometimes called Mannerism, which emerges around this time, the classical proportions of the figures become exaggerated, the colors harsh, and the composition agitated and asymmetrical.

The word mannerism derives from the Italian maniera, meaning "style" or "manner".

Like the English word "style", maniera can either indicate a specific type of style (a beautiful style, an abrasive style) or indicate an absolute that needs no qualification (someone "has style").

In the second edition of his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1568), Giorgio Vasari will use maniera in three different contexts: to discuss an artist's manner or method of working; to describe a personal or group style, such as the term maniera greca to refer to the Byzantine style or simply to the maniera of Michelangelo; and to affirm a positive judgment of artistic quality.

Vasari, who will also become a Mannerist artist, will describe the period in which he works as "la maniera moderna", or the "modern style".

Jacopo Carucci, born at Pontorme, near Empoli, to Bartolomeo di Jacopo di Martino Carrucci and Alessandra di Pasquale di Zanobi, had studied painting with Leonardo da Vinci upon his arrival in Florence around 1511 and then become an assistant to Andrea del Sarto, from whom he has learned the High Renaissance idiom.

Called Pontormo for his birthplace, Vasari relates how the orphaned boy, "young, melancholy and lonely," was shuttled around as a young apprentice: Jacopo had not been many months in Florence before Bernardo Vettori sent him to stay with Leonardo da Vinci, and then with Mariotto Albertinelli, Piero di Cosimo, and finally, in 1512, with Andrea del Sarto, with whom he did not remain long, for after he had done the cartoons for the arch of the Servites, it does not seem that Andrea bore him any good will, whatever the cause may have been.

Pontormo paints in and around Florence, often supported by Medici patronage.

A foray to Rome, largely to see Michelangelo's work, influences his later style.

Haunted faces and elongated bodies are characteristic of his work.

An example of Pontormo's early style is a fresco depicting the Visitation of the Virgin and St Elizabeth, with its dancelike, balanced figures, painted from 1514 to 1516.

Pontormo is much closer in style to his teacher, Andrea del Sarto, and to the early sixteenth century renaissance artistic principles.

For example, the figures stand at just under half the height of the overall picture, and although slightly more crowded than true High Renaissance balance prefers, are placed in a carefully constructed, classicizing architectural setting at a comfortable distance from the viewer.

Fra Bartolommeo, the foremost painter in Florence after Leonardo da Vinci dies on October 31, 1517.

Andrea del Sarto, who, through his contact with Leonardo, Bartolommeo, Raphael's paintings, contemporary sculpture (especially that of Jacopo Sansovino, with whom he has collaborated), and the prints of Durer, has by now established a style characterized by greater use of sfumato and classical interests.

His popular “Madonna of the Harpies” altarpiece features the classical formal harmony, intense colors, and noble sweetness associated with Sarto’s mature work.

Considered his major contribution to High Renaissance art, it is a depiction of a dark-eyed Madonna and child on a pedestal, flanked by angels and two saints (Saint Bonaventure or Francis and John the Evangelist).

Originally completed in 1517 for the convent of San Francesco dei Macci, the altarpiece now resides in the Uffizi.

The figures have a Leonardo-like aura, with a pyramid shaped composition.

Leonardo’s unfortunate experiment with a new fresco technique in his great Last Supper, painted in the late 1490s for the refectory of the ducal church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, begins to show the first signs of decay in 1517.

For this work, Leonardo had sought a greater detail and luminosity than could be achieved with traditional fresco.

He painted The Last Supper on a dry wall rather than on wet plaster, so it is not a true fresco.

Because a fresco cannot be modified as the artist works, Leonardo instead chose to seal the stone wall with a double layer of dried plaster.

Then, borrowing from panel painting, he added an undercoat of white lead to enhance the brightness of the oil and tempera that was applied on top.

This was a method that had been described previously, by Cennino Cennini in the fourteenth century.

However, Cennini had recommended the use of secco for the final touches alone.

These techniques were important for Leonardo's desire to work slowly on the painting, giving him sufficient time to develop the gradual shading or chiaroscuro that was essential in his style.

Because the painting was on a thin exterior wall, the effects of humidity were felt more keenly, and the paint failed to properly adhere to the wall.

Because of the method used, soon after the painting was completed on February 9, 1498, it began to deteriorate.

As early as 1517, the painting was starting to flake.

Due to the methods used, and a variety of environmental factors, as well as intentional damage, very little of the original painting remains today, despite numerous restoration attempts, the last being completed in 1999.

Andrea del Sarto travels briefly to France in 1518, although his crucial influences remain Raphael and the Roman High Renaissance.

Pontormo, who, after briefly studying with Leonardo, became an assistant to Andrea del Sarto, from whom he learned the High Renaissance idiom, had broken completely from the classical style by 1515, when he began his Joseph in Egypt, which he completes in 1518.

The Joseph canvases (now in the National Gallery in London) offer another example of Pontormo's developing style.

Done around the same time as the earlier Visitation, these works (such as Joseph in Egypt, at left) show a much more mannerist leaning.

According to Giorgio Vasari, the sitter for the boy seated on a step is his young apprentice, Bronzino.