Transcript The Northern Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance
1. What factors led to the
beginning of the Renaissance
in northern Europe?
a. the northern population began to recover from
the plague.
b. Hundred Years’ War finally ended, cities were
growing rapidly, city merchants were becoming
wealthy enough to become “patrons” as well as
educated in Humanist pursuits.
Renaissance Ideas Spread to Northern
Europe
Monarchs in England and in France (such as
Francis I who hired Italian architects to build
his palace at Fontainebleau) supported the arts
and introduced Renaissance styles to northern
Europe.
The tone of the Northern Renaissance, however, is
different from what was seen in Italy.
• While wealthy merchants and rich, independent citystates led the way in Italy, this was not the case in the
north.
• Due in part to the plague and the Hundred Years’
War, northern Europe had strong centralised power
structures in the form of monarchies. They didn’t
have city-states.
• Thus, it was mainly the kings and some nobles who
were responsible for the Renaissance’s spread there,
not wealthy patron families.
• It’s also more religious there.
• While the Italian Renaissance was not strictly
secular, it was more so than the Northern flavour.
Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael showed great
Renaissance spirit. Many visited Italy and took Renaissance
ideas back to England, France, Germany, and Flanders
Northern Renaissance Began:
• Plague, 100 Years’ War, fast growing cities helped start it
• Northern humanists interested in religion instead of secular
• Wanted social reform based on Christian values
Artistic Ideas Spread
• 1494 war in Italy, many left Italy for Europe, brought ideas
• Van Eyck uses oil based paints for real details
France’s King François I, 1515-1547.
• Francis became known as
the Father and Restorer of
Letters. He was a
Humanist.
• The two previous French
kings had warred with
(and therefore interacted
with) Italy, but Francis
was the first one to really
embrace the new ideas.
• He sponsored a lot of art, & even tempted Leonardo da
Vinci to France.
• It was near the end of da Vinci’s life and he wasn’t
that productive, but he brought his work with him –
including the Mona Lisa, which is why France has it
and not Italy.
• He was a great reader, a good poet, and greatly expanded
the royal library. He even opened it up to all scholars.
• He promoted architecture- undertook a building
programme in France.
The Chateau de Chambord
Chateau de St. Germain-en-Laye
Château de Fontainebleau
Rebuilt the Louvre
Art
• Art followed the Italian techniques and used a lot of
perspective and realism.
• Some of the bigger names are as follows:
• 1. Durer : self-portraits (22, 26, & 28)
Albrecht Durer – produced
woodcuts & engravings
whose realism influenced
other northern artists.
His works: religious subject
matter, but showed classical
mythology & realistic
landscapes.
Right: “Knight, Death,
and the Devil”
-engraving by
Albrecht Durer
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins High School
• Albrecht Durer
• Hans Holbein (the Younger)
Note the
details:
Pieter Bruegel the
Elder – Painted mostly
scenes of everyday life – focused
on realism & individual
characteristics. Produced
paintings that taught morals,
illustrated proverbs, & strongly
protested Spanish rule over his
country.
Children’s Games
Jan van Eyck – developed
new creative techniques to
achieve most realistic detail
with oil-based paints,
applying several layers to
create variety of colors & 3D appearance to clothing /
jewelry.
“
Wedding Portrait
• Jan van Eyck
Details from
Madonna with
Canon van der
Paele .
1436.
Oil on panel 122 x
157 cm.
Het Groeninge
Museum,
Brugge
Northern Writers Try to Reform Society
•Wanted faith to become more spiritual not ceremonial
•Human emotions, not godly actions
•Erasmus-The Praise of Folly-comedy on church
matters
•Thomas Moore-Utopia-no more greed, war, crime,
corruption
•Shakespeare- used classics to tell (new?)
tales
Literature
• Writing also humanist influenced, but like with the rest, with a
Christian bent, giving rise to Christian Humanism.
• Human freedom and individualism are compatible with
Christianity.
• Human existence isn’t valued merely in itself.
“It is the chief point of happiness when
a man is willing to be what he is not what others would have him be.”
~ Erasmus, 1527.
Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus – a Christian humanist,
wrote The Praise of Folly which poked fun
at people’s human flaws such as greedy
merchants, arrogant priests, etc.
He believed mankind could improve society
by reading the Bible & that Christianity was
about “the heart” & not a bunch of “rules
and ceremonies” done in Church.
Erasmus (continued)
He was from the Dutch region of
Holland & received many honours in
his lifetime.
He was often critical of the “mindless”
rituals Christians performed during
church services & their ignorance
about the actual Bible itself.
Erasmus (continued)
“Don't stand, titter, totter, first standing
upon one Foot, and then upon another,
nor playing with your Fingers, biting your
Lip, scratching your Head, or picking your
Ears: Let your Cloaths be put on tight and
neat, that your whole Dress, Air, Motion
and Habit, may bespeak a modest and
bashful Temper.”
An illustration
Albrecht Durer did
of someone he admired
in his own lifetime –
the Dutch Humanist,
Erasmus.
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins High School
Northern Writers Try to Reform Society
Sir Thomas More , English Humanist
wrote: Utopia
A book about a perfect society. Utopia
is Greek for “no place” –his sense of
humor is evident as this perfect society
he gives this name to clearly did not
exist.
Believed men and women live in
harmony. No private property, no one is
lazy, all people are educated and the
justice system is used to end crime
instead of executing criminals.
Thomas More –concerned about society’s problems.
More served as Speaker in the House of
Commons and Lord Chancellor during the reign
of King Henry VIII of England. When Henry
began his plan to separate the Church of
England from the Catholic Pope, More defended
Catholicism and the struggle with his king would
lead eventually to his trial for treason and his
beheading in 1535 at the Tower of London.
The events are dramatised in a classic film entitled
“A Man for All Seasons.”
Statue of More in
Chelsea, London
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins High School
Chinese, Gutenberg and Printing Spreads Renaissance Ideas
• Chinese invented block printing
• High demand for knowledge and ideas
• 1440 Gutenberg reinvented block printing for European (small # of
letters)
• 1450 Gutenberg invented the printing press
• First book ever printed was
the Bible : Gutenberg Bible
• Revolutionised European society-Previously,
literary works had to be transcribed by hand,
usually by monks. It was tedious,
time-consuming work and made books
very expensive.
Many copies could be made,
books became cheap.
In 1500, already 9-10 million books printed
Rise in number of people being able to read
No more Latin books, now local
languages (vernacular)
Now people could interpret Bible themselves,
begin to question the Church.
• The press actually derived from a modified olive press.
• Its advantage was the durable types used and the
ability to easily move around the letters.
• One of the first projects Gutenberg undertook was
printing 200 copies of the Bible with 42 lines per page.
Some were on vellum.
• There are currently 11 complete copies on vellum
and 48 relatively intact copies on paper. They can
be sold for millions (but aren’t sold that often).
It is said that other great historical events such as the
Protestant Reformation of the 1500s, the Scientific
Age of Enlightenment of the 1600s, & the French
Revolution in the 1700s would likely have not been
such transforming forces had it not been for the
invention of the printing press. WHY?
Mathematics
Astronomy
• Copernicus (1473-1543) begins the
Scientific Revolution
Cartographers (Map making)
Medicine and the Occult
• Medicine began to emerge
• Many alchemists were early chemists