Northern Renaissance Art

1
The Northern Renaissance
2
What new invention allowed the spreading of
Renaissance ideas to other parts of northern
Europe?

• The Printing Press

3
The Printing Press

• 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

4
The printing press made possible the diffusion of
Renaissance learning, but no book stimulated
thought more at this time than did the Bible.
With Gutenbergs 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
5
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 Gods words

6
Other than the printing press, how else did the
ideas and art of the Renaissance spread to Europe?
7
The Spread of the Renaissance

• 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

8
Christian Humanism

• Focus of movement
• Sources of reform
• Summary statement

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Leaders of the Northern Renaissance

• Sir Thomas More

• Erasmus

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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

• 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

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Erasmus (Dutch)

• most influential northern humanisteducational
  and religious reformer
• Translated Greek and Latin versions of Bible for
  purer version
• In Praise of Follysatirizes clergys worldly
  ambitions
• Emphasized tolerance and education
• Wanted reform of church, not abandonment like
  Luther

13
Humanism Reform

• Catholic humanist reformers pave the way for
  Protestantism
• Desiderius Erasmus (14661536) most famous
  northern humanist Catholic educational
  religious reformer
• Germany Reuchlin controversyhumanists defend
  Christian scholar of Judaism on grounds of
  academic freedom
• England Thomas More (14781535), 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

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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.
• More princes kings were patrons of artists.

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Germany
16

• 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

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Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553)

• Court painter at Wittenberg from 1505-1553.
• His best portraits were of Martin Luther (to the
  left).

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Lucas Cranach the Elder
Old Man with a Young Woman
Amorous Old Woman with a Young Man
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Matthias Grünewalds The Crucifixion, 1502
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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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Dürer The Last Supperwoodcut, 1510
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Durer The Triumphal Arch, 1515-1517
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Dürer FourHorsemenof theApocalypsewoodcut,
1498
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England
26

• Renaissance fostered by the reign of Elizabeth I
  (15581603)
• Intense nationalism gave birth to the Elizabethan
  Age
• William Shakespeare (15641616) reflected the
  influence of dramatists of the ancient world and
  Italian writers
• Set the standard for the English language

27
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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Holbeins, The Ambassadors, 1533
A Skull
30
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.
32
Burghley House for William Cecil
The largest grandest house of the early
Elizabethan era.
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France
34

• 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 mid-1500s

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Jean Clouet Portrait of Francis I, 1525
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The School of Fontainebleau

• Gallery right by Rosso Fiorentino Francesco
  Primaticcio
• 1528-1537

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Germain Pilon (1525-1590)

• The Deposition of Christ
• Bronze, 1580-1585.

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The Low Countries
39

• Became of the center of banking and commerce
• Wealthier society placed importance on knowledge
  and art

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Van Eyck -Adoration of the Lamb, Ghent
Altarpiece, 1432
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Van Eyck? The CrucifixionThe Last
Judgment ?1420-1425
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Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife(Wedding
Portrait) Jan Van Eyck1434
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Jan van Eyck - Giovanni Arnolfini His Wife
(details)
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Rogier van der Weyden (1399-1464)
The Deposition 1435
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van der Weydens Deposition (details)
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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 ?

47
Massys The Moneylender His Wife, 1514
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Bruegels, Tower of Babel, 1563
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Bruegels, Mad Meg, 1562
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Bruegels, The Beggars, 1568
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Bruegels, Parable of the Blind Leading the
Blind, 1568
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Bruegels, Niederlandisch Proverbs, 1559
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Bruegels, The Triumph of Death, 1562
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Bruegels, Hunters in the Snow, 1565
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Bruegels, Winter Scene, 1565
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Bruegels, The Harvesters, 1565
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Spain
60

• Did not receive the Renaissance as openly due the
  Churchs apprehension to new ideas.
• Spains xenophobia (fear of foreigners) limited
  the flow of Renaissance ideas
• Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote
• Satirized glorification of chivalry and medieval
  institutions