Transcript 17-2-The-Northern-Renaissance

Chapter 17
Section 2
The Northern Renaissance
Renaissance Art in Northern Europe
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Should not be considered an appendage to Italian
art.
But, Italian influence was strong.
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Painting in OIL, developed in Flanders, was widely
adopted in Italy.
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The differences between the two cultures:
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Italy  change was inspired by humanism with its
emphasis on the revival of the values of classical
antiquity.
N. 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.
Characteristics of Northern
Renaissance Art
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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.
The Northern Renaissance Begins
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By the late 1400s, Renaissance ideas
had spread to Northern Europe
Especially: England, France, Germany,
and Flanders (now part of France and
the Netherlands).
End of Hundred Years War in 1453
sparks growth in Flanders
The Northern Renaissance Begins
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England and France were unified under
strong monarchs
Francis I of France invited Leonardo da
Vinci to retire in France
Fontainebleau castle became a
showcase for Renaissance art
artists were especially interested in
realism
The School of Fontainebleau
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,
,
It revolved around the artists at Francis I’s
Palace at Fontainebleau.
A group of artists that decorated the Royal
Palace between the 1530s and the 1560s.
It was an offshoot of the Mannerist School of
Art begun in Italy at the end of the High
Renaissance.
 characterized by a refined elegance, with crowded
figural compositions in which painting and
elaborate stucco work were closely integrated.
 Their work incorporated allegory in accordance with
the courtly liking for symbolism.
The School of Fontainebleau
,
Gallery [right] by Rosso
Fiorentino & Francesco
Primaticcio
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1528-1537
Artistic Ideas Spread
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War in Italy resulted in artists moving to
Northern Europe for safer lifestyle
N. European artists who studied in Italy
carried Renaissance ideas back to their
homelands
German Painters
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1494-Albrecht Dürer studied in Italy
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woodcuts and engravings
emphasis upon realism
Hans Holbein the Younger
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portraits almost photographic in detail
Emigrated to England
Painted portraits of King Henry VIII
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
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The greatest of German
artists.
A scholar as well as an
artist.
His patron was the
Emperor Maximilian I.
Also a scientist
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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
Durer – The Triumphal Arch, 15151517
The Triumphal Arch, details
The Triumphal Arch, details
Hans Holbein, the Younger (14971543)
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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
Flemish Painters
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Flanders-the artistic center of northern
Europe
Jan van Eyck
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Used oil-based paints
layers of paint
created a variety of subtle colors in clothing
and jewels
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
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skillful in portraying large numbers of people
everyday peasant life
Giovanni Arnolfini
and His Wife
(Wedding Portrait)
Jan Van Eyck
1434
Jan van Eyck - Giovanni Arnolfini & His Wife
(details)
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-1569)
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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.
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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.
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
Northern Writers Try to
Reform Society
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Italian humanists were very interested
in reviving classical languages and
classical texts
Northern humanists were critical of the
failure of the Church to inspire people
to live a Christian life
Christian humanism focused on the
reform of society
Christian Humanists
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Desiderius Erasmus wrote The Praise of
Folly
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in order to improve society, all people
should study the Bible
Thomas More wrote Utopia
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an imaginary land where greed, corruption,
and war have been weeded out
More wrote in Latin, but later translated
when popular
Women’s Reforms
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formal schooling - usually sent only
their sons
Christine de Pizan
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First woman to earn a living as a writer
Wrote in French
Men frequently made objections to
educating women
She questioned different treatment of boys
and girls
Sir Thomas More,
Lord Chancellor of England
The Elizabethan Age
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Renaissance spread to England in the
mid-1500s
known as the Elizabethan Age, after
Queen Elizabeth I
Well-rounded education
She supported the development of
English art and literature
William Shakespeare
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People regard him as the greatest
playwright of all time
He revealed the souls of men and
women through scenes of dramatic
conflict
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Tragedies: Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello,
Romeo and Juliet, and King Lear
Comedies: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
and The Taming of the Shrew
Printing Spreads Renaissance
Ideas
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Around 1045, Bi Sheng of China invented
movable type
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most Chinese printers found movable type
impractical due to large number of characters
Gutenberg Improves the Printing
Process
13th century - blockprinted items reached
Europe from China.
Too slow and laborious for demand
Johann Gutenberg improved process
Gutenberg Bible first full-sized book printed with
movable type
The Legacy of the Renaissance
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Changes in the Arts
• Art drew on techniques and
styles of classical Greece and
Rome.
• Paintings and sculptures
portrayed individuals and nature
in more realistic and lifelike
ways.
• Artists created works that were
secular as well as those that
were religious.
•Writers began to use vernacular
languages to express their ideas.
• The arts praised individual
achievement.
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Changes in Society
• Printing changed society by making
more information available and
inexpensive enough for society at large.
• A greater availability of books
prompted an increased desire for
learning and a rise in literacy throughout
Europe.
• Published accounts of new discoveries,
maps, and charts led to further
discoveries in a variety of fields.
• Published legal proceedings made the
laws clear so that people were more
likely to understand their rights.
• Christian humanists’ attempts to
reform society changed views about
how
life should be lived.
• People began to question political
structures and religious practices