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Northern Renaissance
Unit Concepts:
1. Though Northern Europe did experience a renewed interest in the arts, it was based more on
Medieval styles than Greco-Roman because their roots were in the Medieval traditions.
2. It was very realistic and used ordinary objects to symbolize religious subjects and truths.
3. It was different from the Italian Renaissance in that
a. The use of oil paints produced vibrant, rich color not seen in frescoes
b. The use of oil allowed the painter to create a surface realism rather than relying on the
Italian emphasis on underlying structure, linear perspective, and ordered proportions to
achieve realism.
Historical Background:
1. Power of ruling aristocracy/ wealthy middle class:
2. Invention of oil paint:
Who?
What effect?
3. Political Background:
A. 15th century- commercial free cities
B. Rising power of ruling princes
C. 16th century- powerful nations
D. France, England, Hapsburgs
Northern Renaissance Vocabulary
1. grisaille
2. triptych
3. nominalism
4. genre detail
5. alla prima
6. impasto
7. flamboyant style
8. woodcut
9. engraving
10. etching
11. anamorphic image
12. polyptych
13. lunette
14. miniatures
15. surrealism
16. monochromatic
17. glazes
18. diptych
Northern Renaissance
vs.
Italian Renaissance
15th CENTURY FLANDERS
1. Method of painting:
a. Monochromatic-
b. Glazes
2. Characteristics
a. Rich color tones
b. Glowing light
c. Surface appearance vs. structure
d. Tilted picture planes
e. Symbolism
3. Patrons
a. Bruges equals Florenceb. Dukes of Burgundy equal MedicisROBERT CAMPIN (c. 1378-1444)
1. Styles is rooted in International Gothic Style
2. Replaces the glamorous with the realistic, symbolic, sober
3. Heavy into symbolism
4. Used several perspective points
The Merode Altarpiece/ The Annunciation c. 1425-1428
CLAUS SLUTER
Well of Moses
JAN VAN EYCK (1390-1441)
1. Worked on Ghent Altarpiece with brother Herbert
2. Inventor of Oil Paints
3. Miniaturist
4. Heavy into symbolism
5. Uses several perspective points
The Ghent Altarpiece- 1432
Exterior
Adam and Eve panels
Central Panel
Marriage of Arnolfini and His Bride
ROGIER VAN DER WEYDEN
1. Discovered and corrected van Eyck’s limitations
2. Greater impact on 15th century art of the North
3. Stressed human action/drama
4. Concentrates on themes like Pieta/Crucifixion
The Escorial Deposition
Portrait of a Lady
HIERONYMOUS BOSCH (1450-1516)
1. Satirist, irreligious mocker
2. Surrealistic style
Garden of Earthly Delights c. 1510
Open Triptych
Center Panel
Paradise and Hell
DIRK BOUTS
The Last Supper
HUGO VAN DER GOES (c. 1440-1482)
1. Tries to bring a more personal quality to works
2. Joined a monastery at the end of his life where he suffered a mental breakdown and died
The Portinari Altarpiece/ Adoration of the Shepherds c. 1476
FRANCE
LIMBOURG BROTHERS
Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
January
October
16th CENTURY GERMANY
MATTHIAS GRÜNEWALD (1480-1528)
1. Was the Universal man of the North- painter, architect, hydraulic engineer, etc.
2. Brilliant colorist of his time-subtle tones, vibrant, odd color harmonies
Isenheim Altarpiece c. 1510-1515
Deposition
Annunciation
Resurrection
ALBRECHT DÜRER
1. Studied in Italy and was heavily influenced by their art, particularly Venetians oils.
2. His mission was to bring the Italian Renaissance to the North.
3. Was the “Leonardo of the North”- very famous during his time.
4. Famous for his collection of self-portraits
5. Famed for his mastery of graphic arts: woodcuts, engravings, and etchings.
WOODCUTS AND ENGRAVINGS
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse- 1498
Fall of Man- 1504
PAINTINGS
Self-Portrait: Durer as Christ 1500
The Hare
Four Apostles 1526
HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER (1497-1543)
1. Specialty was portraiture
2. Combined Italian structure, 3D form with Northern realism and detail.
3. Went to England to escape a religious civil war in Germany. Erasmus gave a letter of
introduction to Thomas More.
4. Painter to English court under Henry VIII.
The French Ambassadors (1533)
Thomas More
Erasmus
Henry VIII
16th CENTURY NETHERLANDS
PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER (1525-1569)
1. Painted the inter-relationship of man and nature.
2. High-horizoned cosmographical works. (Depicted the world around him)
3. Activities of man- his dominant theme.
4. Studied works of Bosch- they strongly affected him.
5. Spent time in Italy- not truly an influence on him.
Hunters in the Snow (1565)
The Wedding Feast
The Blind Leading the Blind (1568)
The Triumph of Death
16th CENTURY SPAIN
EL GRECO (Kyrakos Theotolopoulos) 1547-1614
1. Combines Spanish mysticism with Spanish practicality
2. Elongated figures.
3. Born in Crete (late Byzantine); studied in Italy (Mannerism)
4. Dematerialization of form- mysticism
5. Work is not strictly Spanish- it had no antecedents and has no lasting future influence on
Spanish artists (simple English: he was one of a kind)
Burial of Count Orgaz (1586)
View of Toledo
Opening of the Fifth Seal of the Apocalypse
ARCHITECTURE
France
Chateau de Chambord:
Francis I:
PIERRE LESCOT
Louvre, Paris:
Spain
Escorial Palace