The

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The Northern Renaissance
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Renaissance Art in Northern Europe

• Should not be considered an appendage to Italian
  art.
• But, Italian influence was strong.
• Painting in OIL, developed in Flanders, was
  widely adopted in Italy.
• The differences between the two cultures
• Italy ? change was inspired by humanism with its
  emphasis on the revival of the values of
  classical antiquity.
• No. Europe ? change was driven by religious
  reform, the return to Christian values, and the
  revolt against the authority of the Church.
• More princes kings were patrons of artists.

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Characteristics of Northern Renaissance Art

• The continuation of late medieval attention to
  details.
• Tendency toward realism naturalism less
  emphasis on the classical ideal.
• Interest in landscapes.
• More emphasis on middle-class and peasant life.
• Details of domestic interiors.
• Great skill in portraiture.

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Flemish Realism
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Begins in Flanders

• Moves from there to France, Germany, and Spain

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Dutch Realism
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Jan van Eyck (1395 1441)

• More courtly and aristocratic work.
• Court painter to the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the
  Good.
• ?The Virgin and Chancellor Rolin, 1435.

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Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife(Wedding
Portrait) Jan Van Eyck1434
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The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna
Cenami 1434
Symbol of faithfulness Almost every detail can be
interpreted as a symbol. The companion dog is
seen as a symbol of faithfulness and love. The
fruits on the window ledge probably stand for
fertility and our fall from Paradise. Even the
discarded shoes are not thought to be incidental,
but to signify the sanctity of marriage.
In the mirror at the back of the room we see the
whole scene reflected from behind, and there, so
it seems, we also see the image of the painter
and witness. We do not know whether it was the
Italian merchant or the northern artist who
conceived the idea of making this use of the new
kind of painting, which may be compared to the
legal use of a photograph, properly endorsed by a
witness. But whoever it was that originated this
idea, he had certainly been quick to understand
the tremendous possibilities which lay in Van
Eyck's new way of painting. For the first time in
history the artist became the perfect eye-witness
in the truest sense of the term.
The mirror is painted with almost miraculous
skill. Its carved frame is inset with ten
miniature medallions depicting scenes from the
life of Christ. Yet more remarkable is the
mirror's reflection, which includes van Eyck's
own tiny self-portrait, accompanied by another
man who may have been the official witness to the
ceremony.
Symbolic candle The solitary flame burning in
bright daylight can be interpreted as the bridal
candle, or God's all-seeing eye, or simply as a
devotional candle. Another symbol is St Margaret
(the patron saint of women in childbirth), whose
image is carved on the high chairback.
http//www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/eyck/arnolfin
i/arnolfini.jpg
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Jan van Eyck - Giovanni Arnolfini His Wife
(details)
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van der Weydens Deposition (details)
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France
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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.

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Dürer Self-Portrait in Fur-Collared Robe, 1500
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• He was an engraver!
• It almost looks like photography

http//www.washacadsci.org/flowers/grasses-the20l
ar ge20turf.albrecht20durer.large.jpg
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Dürer FourHorsemenof theApocalypsewoodcut,
1498
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http//www.washacadsci.org/flowers/grasses-the20l
ar ge20turf.albrecht20durer.large.jpg

• He did this just from an oral description.
• He never saw a real Rhinoceros!

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• Everybodys
• favorite
• tattoo?

http//www.elca.org/questions/Results.asp?recid26
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England
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Hans Holbein, the Younger (1497-1543)

• 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.
• Doesnt conceal the weaknesses of his subjects.

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Artist to the Tudors
Henry VIII (left), 1540 and the future Edward VI
(above), 1543.
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Multiple Perspectives
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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.
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Burghley House for William Cecil
The largest grandest house of the early
Elizabethan era.
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The Low Countries
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Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-1569)

• One of the greatest artistic geniuses of his age.
• Worked in Antwerp and then moved to Brussels.
• In touch with a circle of Erasmian humanists.
• Was deeply concerned with human vice and follies.
• A master of landscapes not a portraitist.
• People in his works often have round, blank,
  heavy faces.
• They are expressionless, mindless, and sometimes
  malicious.
• They are types, rather than individuals.
• Their purpose is to convey a message.

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Bruegels, Tower of Babel, 1563
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Bruegels, The Triumph of Death, 1562
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New Ideas
Humanist

• New Philosophical Ideas
• New Political Ideas
• New Ideas in Education

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• Renaissance humanists
• Idealized the classical world of the ancient
  Greeks and Romans
• Focused on man and his intellectual powers
• Focused on the classical ideal of seeking
  fulfillment and meaning in daily life
• Focused on individual worth and potential
• Focused on many secular (non-religious) aspects
  of life

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Erasmus and Christian Humanism

• The best known Christian humanist was Desiderius
  Erasmus.

• He developed what he called the philosophy of
  Christ, meant to show people how to live good
  lives on a daily basis rather than how to achieve
  salvation.
• He stressed inward piety, not external observance
  of rules and rituals.

http//www.artchive.com/artchive/h/holbein/erasmus
.jpg
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Erasmus and Christian Humanism

• To reform the Church, Erasmus wanted to spread
  the philosophy of Christ, educate people about
  Christianity, and criticize the abuses of the
  Church.

• In his 1509 work The Praise of Folly, he
  especially criticized the monks.
• Erasmus did not want to break away from the
  Church, as later reformers would.
• Yet people of his day said, Erasmus laid the egg
  that Luther hatched. What does this mean?

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Thomas More of England

• Thomas More wrote a famous book called Utopia
  which was about an ideal society
• Thomas More famously opposed the king and was
  beheaded.

What is it With these British kings And
beheading!
Author of Utopia how ironic!
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The Impact of Printing The Renaissance saw the
development of printing in Europe. Johannes
Gutenberg of Germany played a crucial role in
the process. Gutenbergs Bible, printed about
1455, was the first European book produced from
movable type.
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The Impact of Printing Or the Impact of
Computers Most papers and magazines are now
digitalized. How has the computer changed
communication today and an examination of current
invasions of privacy?
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Objectives

1. List three characteristics of the Renaissance
2. Explain the three estates of Renaissance society.
3. Explain Renaissance education.
4. Describe artistic contributions of the
   Renaissance.
5. Describe Christian humanism
6. Describe Luthers role in the Reformation
7. Describe religious changes in Switzerland, in
   England, and within the Catholic Church.