Download Northern Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance
The Renaissance Moves North
• Because of the plague, it was
not until 1450 did northern
Europe enjoy the economic
growth that helped support
the Renaissance in Italy.
• Northern artists and writers
imitated Italian styles while
adding new methods and
ideas of their own.
• As a result of the printing
press, books became more
available and people became
more literate.
Humanism in Europe
• Northern Humanists
stressed education and
classical learning,
• However, unlike the
Italian humanists, they
emphasized religious
themes.
• They believed that the
revival should be used to
bring about religious and
moral reform.
Art in the North
• The 16th century heralded a
new era for painting in the
Netherlands and Germany.
• Northern artists were
influenced by the great
innovations in the South
• Many artists traveled to
Italy to study
• The Renaissance concern for
bringing modern science and
philosophy into art was also
evident in the North.
Albrecht Duerer
• Albrecht Duerer was without
doubt the greatest artist of
the Northern Renaissance.
• Found inspiration in the
work of painters of both
major European artistic
centers of his time.
• Rather than simply imitating
what others were doing,
Duerer was very much an
innovator.
• First artist who is known to
have painted a self-portrait
and to have done a landscape
painting of a specific scene.
Albrecht Duerer
• The range and versatility of
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Duerer's work is astonishing.
His woodcuts and engravings made
him famous
Still considered to be the greatest
printmaker of all time.
As an oil painter, Duerer was
equally successful at religious and
secular subjects, producing
magnificent altarpieces and
powerful portraits.
His drawings and watercolors are
impressive for their diversity of
subject-matter
Hans Holbein
• Born in Augsburg, a rich merchant
city with close trading relations with
Italy
• The knowledge which Durer strove
for so passionately throughout his
life thus came more naturally to
Holbein.
• Coming from a painter's family he
absorbed the achievements of both
the northern and the Italian artists.
• He was hardly over thirty when he
painted the wonderful painting of
the Virgin with the family of the
burgomaster of Basle as donors.
Hans Holbein
• Holbein had careful attention
to detail and a certain
indifference to conventional
beauty
• These were characteristics that
show Holbein had learned his
trade in the North.
• He was on his way to becoming
the leading master of the
German-speaking countries
• However the turmoil of the
Reformation put an end to all
such hopes.
Jan van Eyck
• Jan van Eyck was the greatest artist
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of the early Netherlands school.
Held high positions in his career,
including court painter and
diplomat.
So outstanding was his skill as an oil
painter that its invention is often
attributed to him.
Exploited the qualities of oil,
building up layers of transparent
glazes
Thus giving him a surface on which
to capture objects in the minutest
detail and allowing for the
preservation of his colors.
Jan van Eyck
• Nowhere is this better displayed
than in this portrait “The
Betrothal of the Arnolfini”.
• The signature on the back wall 'Jan Van Eyck was here, 1434' and his reflection in the mirror
has led many to believe that he
was a witness to their marriage.
• The carving of Saint Margaret,
the patron saint of childbirth, on
the bed, and the presence of the
dog - a traditional symbol of
faithfulness - accentuate the
marital theme
Shakespeare
• The best known Renaissance
writer was William
Shakespeare.
• Shakespeare was also an
actor and a poet.
• Between 1590 and 1613 he
wrote 37 plays that are still
preformed around the
world.
• Though William
Shakespeare is recognized as
one of literature’s greatest
influences, very little is
actually known about him
The Printing Revolution
• In 1456, Johann
Gutenberg printed the
bible using movable metal
type on a machine called
a Printing Press.
• Printed books became
cheap and easier to
produce that hand copies.
• Readers gained access to
broad range of knowledge
(Medicine to Religion)
• The printing press would
greatly contribute to the
Protestant Reformation.