number of revivals of Roman buildings and the occasional piece of sculpture. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 brought a flood of scholarly refugees to Italy, and they brought with them a new access to the Greek language and Greek culture. Economically and politically, the period was the product of the Italian city-states, chief among them being Florence. All were proud, independent entities with trading and banking systems that were the most sophisticated in Europe and that owed much to the lavish patronage offered by an increasingly secularized papacy (Lucie-Smith 173).
Another movement in the Renaissance period was that of Mannerism, which was a phenomenon all over Europe. It developed spontaneously out of the Renaissance, "whose balance it disturbed by reveling in technical advances of such masters as Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo, often to the exclusion of their spirit" (Vyverberg 138). Mannerism was derived from the Italian maniera, meaning simply "style," and it is defined by its emphasis on self conscious artifice over realistic depiction. The sixteenth century artist and critic Vasari, who was himself a mannerist, believed that excellence in painting demanded refinement, richness of invention, and virtuoso technique, criteria that emphasized the artist's intellect. Mannerist elements are evident in "Mars and Venus United by Love."
The painting is large, standing at about 81 by 63 inches. Critics have offered various interpretations for the subject matter. It is i
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