Download Northern Renaissance Art

What new invention allowed the
spreading of Renaissance ideas
to other parts of northern Europe?
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The Printing Press
The Printing Press
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1445--Johann Gutenberg
invented printing press with
moveable type (Mainz,
Germany)
precursors: rise of schools &
literacy (demand for books);
invention of cheap paper
by 1500, printing presses
running in more than 200
cities in Europe and over 15
million books in circulation
The printing press made possible the diffusion of Renaissance learning, but no book
stimulated thought more at this time than did the Bible. With Gutenberg’s publication of a
printed Bible in 1454, scholars gained access to a dependable, standardized text, so
Scripture could be discussed and debated as never before.
This item is reproduced by permission of The Huntington Library, San Marino, California
What effect did the printing press have on
the Renaissance and its people?
rulers in church & state now had to deal
with more educated, critical public; also
powerful tool of religious/political
propaganda
 Cheaper books led to a more literate public
 Bible printed in many languageseasier
access for the laity

 Precursor to Reformationno need for priest
to read God’s words
Other than the printing press, how
else did the ideas and art of the
Renaissance spread to Europe?
The Spread of the Renaissance
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A series of battles between French,
Spanish, and Italian city-states led to the
spread of ideas and values
Teachers migrated out of Italy
Students returned to home country after
studying in Italy
European merchants penetrated into Italy
Christian missionaries traveled Europe
Christian Humanism
Focus of movement:
 Sources of reform:
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Summary statement:
Leaders of the Northern
Renaissance
Sir Thomas More
Erasmus
Christian Humanism & Reform
northern humanists: more interested than Italians in
religious reform & educating laity
 Emphasized study of the Bible and church fathers
 More interested in providing guidance on personal
behavior, less materialistic, and focused on questions
of morality and ethics
 Emphasized education
 A “need to know society” in the North
 A number of new universities established in the
1400s in the North, BUT none in Italy
 Power of humans to reform institutions (Church) and
moral behaviorreteach
 Many will become leaders of Reformation
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Leaders of Northern Humanism
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Thomas More
(England)—wrote
Utopia (“nowhere”)
described a perfect
society free of war,
poverty, and
intolerance
 Utopia possible by
following Christian
ideals
 Executed by King
Henry VIII
Erasmus (Dutch)
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most influential northern
humanist—educational and
religious reformer
Translated Greek and Latin
versions of Bible for
“purer” version
In Praise of Folly—satirizes
clergy’s worldly ambitions
Emphasized tolerance and
education
Wanted reform of church,
not abandonment like Luther
Humanism & Reform
,
,
,
,
,
,
Catholic humanist reformers pave the way for
Protestantism
Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536): most famous
northern humanist; Catholic educational & religious
reformer
Germany: Reuchlin controversy—humanists defend
Christian scholar of Judaism on grounds of
academic freedom
England: Thomas More (1478–1535), best-known
English humanist; Utopia (1516)
France: Guillaume Budé, Jacques Lefèvre
Spain: humanism in service of Catholic Church;
Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros: Grand Inquisitor,
founder of University of Alcalá, biblical scholar
Renaissance Art in Northern
Europe
 No. Europe  change was driven by religious reform,
the return to Christian values, and the revolt against
the authority of the Church.
 Tendency toward realism & naturalism [less
emphasis on the “classical ideal”].
 Interest in landscapes.

More emphasis on middle-class and peasant life.
Great skill in portraiture.
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More princes & kings were patrons of artists.
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Turn of 16th century, heart of European
progress
, Thriving economycentral trade routes
, Towns sprouted, grew, and traded
, Banking expanded:
,
 The Fuggers and other German families
controlled more capital than all the Italian
bankers and other Europeans combined
Lucas Cranach the Elder (14721553)
,
Court painter at
Wittenberg from
1505-1553.
,
His best portraits
were of Martin
Luther (to the
left).
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Old Man with a Young
Woman
Amorous Old Woman with a
Young Man
Matthias Grünewald’s The
Crucifixion, 1502
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
,
,
,
,
The greatest of German
artists.
A scholar as well as an
artist.
His patron was the
Emperor Maximilian I.
Also a scientist
 Wrote books on geometry,
fortifications, and human
proportions.
,
,
Self-conscious
individualism of the
Renaissance is seen in
his portraits.
 Self-Portrait at 26,
1498.
Dürer – Self-Portrait in Fur-Collared
Robe, 1500
Dürer
The Last
Supper
woodcut,
1510
Durer – The Triumphal Arch, 15151517
Dürer
Four
Horsemen
of the
Apocalypse
woodcut,
1498
Renaissance fostered by the
reign of Elizabeth I (1558—
1603)
, Intense nationalism gave birth
to the Elizabethan Age
, William Shakespeare (1564—
1616) reflected the influence
of dramatists of the ancient
world and Italian writers
,
 Set the standard for the
English language
Hans Holbein, the Younger (14971543)
,
,
One of the great German
artists who did most of his
work in England.
While in Basel, he
befriended Erasmus.
 Erasmus Writing, 1523 
,
,
Henry VIII was his patron
from 1536.
Great portraitist noted
for:
 Objectivity & detachment.
 Doesn’t conceal the
weaknesses of his
subjects.
Artist to the Tudors
Henry VIII (left), 1540
and the future Edward VI
(above), 1543.
Holbein’s, The Ambassadors,
1533
A Skull
Multiple Perspectives
The English Were More Interested in
Architecture than Painting
Hardwick Hall, designed by Robert Smythson in the 1590s,
for the Duchess of Shrewsbury [more medieval in style].
Burghley House for William Cecil
The largest & grandest house
of the early Elizabethan era.
French monarchy renewed commerce after
100 Years’ Warexpanded the middle class
, The bourgeoisie provided an ample source
of revenue for the royal treasury
, The taille (a direct head tax on all land
and property) strengthened the finances of
the royal treasury
, Renaissance takes hold in France in mid1500s
,
Jean Clouet – Portrait of Francis I,
1525
The School of Fontainebleau
,
Gallery [right] by Rosso
Fiorentino & Francesco
Primaticcio
,
1528-1537
Germain Pilon (1525-1590)
,
,
The Deposition of Christ
Bronze, 1580-1585.
Became of the center of banking and
commerce
, Wealthier society placed importance on
knowledge and art
,
Van Eyck -Adoration of the Lamb,
Ghent Altarpiece, 1432
Van Eyck:
 The Crucifixion
&
The Last Judgment

1420-1425
Giovanni
Arnolfini and
His Wife
(Wedding
Portrait)
Jan Van Eyck
1434
Jan van Eyck - Giovanni Arnolfini &
His Wife
(details)
Rogier van der Weyden (13991464)
The
Deposition
1435
van der Weyden’s Deposition
(details)
Quentin Massys (1465-1530)
,
,
,
,
Belonged to the
humanist circle
in Antwerp that
included
Erasmus.
Influenced by
da Vinci.
Thomas More
called him “the
renovator of
the old art.”
The Ugly
Dutchess,
1525-1530 
Massys’ The Moneylender & His Wife,
1514
Bruegel’s, Tower of Babel, 1563
Bruegel’s, Mad Meg, 1562
Bruegel’s, The Beggars, 1568
Bruegel’s, Parable of the Blind
Leading the Blind, 1568
Bruegel’s, Niederlandisch Proverbs,
1559
Bruegel’s, The Triumph of Death,
1562
Bruegel’s, Hunters in the Snow,
1565
Bruegel’s, Winter Scene, 1565
Bruegel’s, The Harvesters, 1565
Spain
Did not receive the Renaissance as openly
due the Church’s apprehension to new
ideas.
, Spain’s xenophobia (fear of foreigners)
limited the flow of Renaissance ideas
, Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote
,
 Satirized glorification of chivalry and
medieval institutions