Artistic Manner as Autonomy: Creative Freedom and the Constraint of Rules in Vasari, Bellori and Kant.

The article focuses on Immanuel Kant's conception of artistic autonomy as presented in §49 of the *Critique of the Power of Judgment*, particularly regarding the role of *maniera* (manner) in artistic expression. Kant distinguishes between manner as the legitimate, individual style through which an artist creatively modifies academic rules to express original aesthetic ideas, and mannerism (*Manierismus*), which he critiques as a superficial or excessive freedom that undermines genuine artistry. The discussion situates Kant's view within a historical debate on *maniera* involving sixteenth- and seventeenth-century theorists Giorgio Vasari and Giovanni Pietro Bellori, whose contrasting attitudes reflect tensions between artistic freedom and adherence to ideal forms. Kant's framework classifies artistic succession into emulation, imitation, and aping, emphasizing that true artistic value arises from autonomous creativity guided by reason, rather than slavish copying or unrestrained novelty. This perspective offers a nuanced understanding of originality, rule modification, and the transmission of artistic legacy.