The characteristics of Italian Mannerism as represented by Vasari and Bronzino were these ; the flattening of figures, their action in two dimensions, the isolation of principal figures and groups of figures. It was illustrated by Vasari in the explanation of the word " maniera " of his " The Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects" that these characteristics were used for the purpose of creating the graceful figures. The same characteristics mentioned above can been seen in the painting of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, such as " The Battle between Carnival and Lent ", " Children's Games ", " The Peasant's Wedding " and " The Dance of the Peasants ", which he worked out after his journey in Italy. We must, however, emphasize that he did not make use of any graceful figures as his subjects, for he suggested the universal human being in the form of peasants in the same manner as he arranged all sorts of things in nature according to the universal order shown in his landscape painting. Here we can recognize the original quality of Mannerism that Bruegel established in his Flanders.

橋本孝先生古希記念論文集