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Northern Renaissance

NORTHERN RENAISSANCE

I. OVERVIEW

A. Time period

1. Northern Renaissance refers to artistic developments in Northern Europe (Flanders, Netherlands, Germany, England) during the 1400’s and 1500’s

2. The Renaissance was developing in the Northern Europe contemporaneously with the Italian Renaissance.

B. Locations

1. Burgundy Southwestern France to southern Belgium Rivals of France, often siding with the English Ruled by powerful dukes who were patrons of the arts

2. Flanders Modern-day Belgium, southern Netherlands Cosmopolitan cities Prosperity based upon wool and banking Painters from the region are known as Flemish

3. Netherlands Present-day Holland Painters from this region are known as Netherlandish

C. Rich Artistic Tradition

1. Pioneered the use of oil paints in the 1300’s. Painters from Flanders travelled down to Italy in search of commissions from wealthy Italian patrons. Flemish painters interacted with Italian painters in some of the big cities and shared the medium of oil painting. The Venetians would be among the earliest Italians to capitalize on this medium

2. Renowned for exquisite detail in their paintings made possible by the lengthy drying time of oil paint.

3. Noted for the use of “disguised symbolism” – everyday objects have hidden meanings

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4. Figures in many Northern Renaissance paintings look a little strange by the Italian Renaissance standards. People often have slightly elongated heads and strange-looking faces, but overall their proportions are realistic. Northern Renaissance painting lacks the classical references found in Italian art.

Example: Compare Jan van Eyck’s Adam and Eve from the Ghent Altarpiece to Masaccio’s Adam and Even Expelled from Eden in the Brancacci Chapel

Notice how different their bodies look

II. NORTHERN RENAISSANCE ARTISTS AND THEIR WORK

A. Limbourg Brothers

1. Painted Les Tres Riches Heures de Duc de Berry (The Very Sumptuous Book of Hours of the Duke of Berry)

2. This is an illuminated manuscript. The Duke of Berry was an avid collector of manuscripts – he owned more than 300.

3. A Book of Hours was like a breviary. It was a book of prayers to be recited at set hours of the day from the morning prayers through evening prayers. The centerpiece of a book of hours was a special prayer called the “Office of the Blessed Virgin.”

4. Calendars pages usually preceded the “Office of the Blessed Virgin.” The calendar pages of Les Tres Riches Heures de Duc de Berry are what make the book and its artists the Limbourg Brothers so famous.

5. The calendar pages show the activities performed during the different seasons of the year. The Limbourg Brothers alternated between scenes of the duke and his nobles to seasons of the peasants living in his land. The scenes of the peasants depict them as content with their lives, which made the Duke feel better about himself as their ruler.

6. At the tops of the calendar pages, the Limbourg Brothers painted the zodiac signs. Want to see your sign?

7. The Limbourg Brothers painted with amazing naturalism and realism. There is a sense of depth to their painting. The figures cast shadows behind them, which shows the Limbourgs understood the effect of light.

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B. Claus Sluter

1. Well of Moses Commissioned by Philip the Bold for the cloister of a

Carthusian monastery Designed as a fountain for a well that provided water

for the monastery Probably didn’t actually spout water – Carthusian

monasteries were known for their silence Old Testament figures – Moses, David, and Old

Testament prophets decorate the base Once supported a Crucifixion group Compare Sluter’s Moses to Michelangelo’s Moses. How

are the similar? How are they different?

C. Robert Campin

1. Also referred to as “Master of Flemalle,” because he was a master painter from that city in Flanders.

2. Regarded as a Flemish master

Little is known about Campin’s life His art is known for its startling and amazing precision

3. Merode Altarpiece

A TRIPTYCH painted with oil paint Purpose: devotional Relatively small – central panel is 2 feet by 2 feet and

the side panels are 1 foot by 2 feet We are in the home of a well-kept middle-class Flemish

merchant – Peter Inghelbrecht (his last name means “angel bringer”)

Central panel depicts an Annunciation. Left panel shows the donors Right panel shows Joseph working in his shop Many symbols disguised as everyday objects Lily – symbol of Mary’s purity, three lilies on a single

stalk represent the Trinity, the bud represents Christ Flowers associated with Mary grow on the outside wall

of the courtyard (Roses – Mary’s charity, Violets – Mary’s humility)

Water basin – “the vessel most clean” – symbolizes Mary’s holy womb

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Note that Mary is not handling the Holy Scriptures with her bare hands. She demonstrates her reverence for the scriptures by handling them with a towel

Candle – the present of God, light is a common metaphor for divinity– But the flame is distinguished – Why?

Baby Jesus has entered the room (very small, coming through the window carrying a cross) on rays of light

Mousetrap in Joseph’s workshop – Joseph hs made a mousetrap, symbolic of the theological tradition that Christ is bait set in the trap of the world to catch the devil.

D. Jan van Eyck

1. Brief biography

Successful artist who worked for private patrons Worked during the 1st half of the 1400s His brother was also a painter

2. The Ghent Altarpiece

A POLYPTYCH (multi-paneled paintings or relief panels – This is common for Flemish altarpieces

On display in Cathedral of Saint Bavo in Ghent One of the largest and most admired Flemish

altarpieces of the 15th century

With wings closed The donors of the piece are shown at the base Two saints (John the Baptist holds a lamb – Saint

Bavo’s was originally named after John the Baptist and John the Evangelist – author of the Gospel of John and Book of Revelation in the New Testament) are painted in GRISAILLE to create the illusion of sculpture

The Annunciation is shown across the central panels when the Ghent Altarpiece is closed (note the use of symbols in the guise of everyday objects) – The Annunciation is the first step in Christ’s coming to the world

Note Jan van Eyck’s understanding of recessional space – a detail view of the city outside the room

Ghent Altarpiece Opened

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God the Father wears the papal tiara and has a worldly crown at his feet

Virgin Mary, queen of Heaven with a crown of 12 stars – 12 tribes of Israel

Saint John the Baptist Adam and Eve – represent the fall of man and the need

for a Savior, the reason for Christ’s sacrifice Adoration of the Lamb Based on a passage from the Book of Revelation – the

end of the world and the coming of the New Jerusalem Lamb – symbolizes Christ, blood spouts from his chest

into a chalice symbolizing the Eucharist (Holy Communion)

A dove representing the Holy Spirit is over his head Ghent pictured in the distance – Can you see Saint

Bavo’s Cathedral? Surrounded by apostles, martyrs, and prophets Panels on the left – depict Just Judges and Knights of

Christ Panels on the right depict pilgrims and Holy Hermits

3. Arnolfini Marriage

Oil painting with Renaissance qualities – balanced, detailed, interest in being remembered (both the patron and the artist), amazing naturalism, understanding of the role of light/shadow, sense of depth in the room

Giovanni de Arrigo Arnolfini – a wealthy Italian merchant who settled in Bruges around 1421

Giovanna Cenami – his bride who came from a wealthy Italian family

Symbolism Giovanna is not pregnant – she gathers up her green

gown (representing fertility) in a gesture that she has a suitable womb for bearing children

Their shoes are off – What does this symbolize about the act of marriage?

One lit candle in the chandelier Dog – represents fidelity His beaver-skin hat and fur coat – the trappings of a

wealthy merchant Red for the bed – symbolizes the passion that should

exist in marriage Saint Catherine – guardian of the household and patron

saint of housewives, notice the duster hanging

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Beautiful beads – a wedding gift from Giovanni to Giovanna

An amazing convex mirror – shows Jan van Eyck’s ability to paint with precision and detail – we see the backs of the bride and groom and two witnesses, one of whom is the artist himself with the easel

Oranges – symbolic of the fruits of their homeland Italy also symbolic of temptation – the oranges have been put off the side

Jan van Eyck signed and dated his work above the convex mirror.

4. Man in a Red Turban (Jan van Eyck)

FIRST painted PORTRAIT in Western art in over 1000 years.

As Flemish merchants became more prosperous, they became more interested in secular art, such as landscapes and portraits

Objective reality – note that you can see blood vessels in his eyes and stubble on his chin

No religious allusions like the portraits of the donors in the Ghent Altarpiece

May be a self-portrait

E. Rogier van der Weyden

1. Brief biographical facts

Completed his apprenticeship under Robert Campin (Master of Flemalle)

Undertook important commissions for distinguished members of Burgundian court

Paintings are renowned for their exquisite natural detail and ability to portray human emotions

2. The Deposition

The Dead Christ – streaks of blood stain his cheeks, neck, and forehead. His mouth hangs open in an expression of agony and exhaustion.

Mary, the mother of Christ – her pose echoes her Son’s pose. The Virgin’s grief is shown with remarkable realism.

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Mary Magdalene – close female follower of Jesus, a woman with a bad reputation with men prior to following Christ, shown with her symbol – the alabaster vase that holds perfume/ointment, also shown with long hair

St. John – the apostle who writes the Gospel of John, Book of Revelation, and to whom Jesus charges the responsibility of caring for his mother.

Joseph of Arimithea – rich man who obtained permission for Pilate to take Jesus’ body down from the cross and placed him in a rock-cut tomb in front of which he placed a boulder

Nicodemus – a Jewish priest who was a secret follower of Christ

Skull of Adam – at the base of the cross, reminds us that Christ died to redeem Adam’s sin

Symbols of an archer’s guild – The tiny crossbows let us know that the Ghent Archer’s Guild paid for this altarpiece.

This shows the rise of more secular patronage (regular people) and less patronage by religious authorities (ex. Popes) during the Northern Renaissance, a sign of the prosperity of Flanders.

3. Portrait of a Lady

Shows the rise of portraiture – a significant feature of both the Italian and Northern Renaissance – people wanted to be remembered

Rogier gives us insight into the person – her clothing shows that she is a noble. Her downward glance and tightly interlocked fingers indicate that she is a pious and reserved lady.

4. Last Judgment Altarpiece How can you tell that this piece is Northern

Renaisance?

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F. Miscellaneous Masterpieces by Flemish painters

1. Basic points

In the following paintings look for: Intricate detail Hidden symbols Greater realism and less idealization of the human body

than Italian Renaissance A sense of depth with good shading

2. DIRK BOUTS, Last Supper

3. HUGO VAN DER GOES, Portinari Altarpiece

4. PETRUS CHRISTUS, A Goldsmith in His Shop, Possibly Saint Eligius

G. BOSCH – An Unusual Flemish painter

1. Garden of Earthly Delights

A large triptych – 7 feet tall A secular (by common person, not a religious figure)

commission for private use Kept in the palace of Henry III of Nassau, regent of the

Netherlands What’s the painting all about? Left panel may represent the Garden of Eden Central panel may represent humanity run amok after

the Fall of Man (Original Sin by Adam and Eve) Right panel may represent Hell, the punishment for

humanity run amok No interpretation of this painting is universally

accepted Art historians are unsure on how to interpret Bosch and

his work (was he a religious fanatic like Savonarola, was he a pornographer, was he satirist of humanity, was he an irreligious mocker?)

Key AP test point - Qualities of this work such as the unusual symbolism and strange fantasy imagery may have inspired the SURREALISTS – 20th century painters like Dali and Magritte, whose paintings also contain dreamlike and fantastical imagery

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III. GERMAN MASTERS OF THE NORTHERN RENAISSANCE

A. Matthias Grunewald and the Isenheim Altarpiece

1. An altarpiece for the Hosital of St. Anthony Monastery in Isenheim, Germany

The Hospital of St. Anthony at Isenheim specialized in treating patients with skin diseases. Its monastery chapel was a pilgrimage shrine for those suffering from skin diseases.

One of the five major diseases treated at the hospital was called “St. Anthony’s Fire.” It was most likely the disease known as ergotism, which is caused by consuming a fungus that grows on rye bread.

It was believed that all physical illness was a manifestation of spiritual illness and the first step in treating patients at the Hospital of St. Anthony was to bring them before the Isenheim Altarpiece to pray.

The Isenheim Altarpiece was placed in the choir of the church.

2. Representation of Christ (Altarpiece closed)

Intense suffering on the cross with gory wounds Darkness envelops the scene as the Bible described the

day Christ has boils and marks all over his body – Grunewald

wanted the infirm to know that Christ understood their suffering

When the altarpiece is partially opened, it appears as if Christ’s right arm is amputated. If you open one of the lower wings, it appears as if Christ’s lower legs were amputated. Amputation was one of the treatments of the skin diseases turned gangrene.

3. Suffering of the Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist, and Mary Magdalene

4. Saint John the Baptist points to Christ and states: “He must increase and I must decrease.” (John 3:30)

5. Notice that the lamb with the cross by John’s feet spouts blood from its chest into a chalice. This represents the shedding of Christ’s blood as the Lamb of God and the

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Eucharist / Communion is observed to remember the shedding of Christ’s blood.

6. The figures on the wings are Saint Sebastian, a saint associated with suffering who is often shown with numerous arrows penetrating his body, and Saint Anthony, who was a saint associated with both dispensing justice and healing. In the wing with Saint Anthony, you can notice a small demon/devil, which has broken through a window in the room and spews pestilence.

7. Altarpiece opened

It opens up a few different ways. When the wings are opened, four more scenes are

revealed: Annunciation, Angelic Concert, Madonna and Child, and Resurrection.

When the interior wings are opened, an interior shrine sculpted by Nikolaus Hagenauer is revealed (it depicts Saints Anthony, Augustine and Jerome) as well as two more scenes: Meeting of Saints Anthony and Paul and Temptation of Saint Anthony.

8. Grunewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece expresses the terrible illnesses and suffering, with which patients at St. Anthony’s Hospital could identify, and expresses hope in healing and salvation through St. Anthony’s ability to overcome his own afflictions and more importantly, the suffering and resurrection of Christ.

B. Albrecht Altdorfer

1. The Battle of Issus, 1529

A tablet appears to descend from the vault of heaven and bears the following message in Latin: “The defeat of Darius by Alexander the Great, following the deaths of 100,000 Persian foot-soldiers and more than 10,000 Persian horsemen. King Darius’ mother, wife, and children were taken prisoner, together with about 1,000 fleeing horse-soldiers.”

This historic battle is depicted as if it were happening during the 16th century – armored knights are fighting

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Alexander the Great can be seen pursuing Darius across the battle field.

Reflects the publication of the first European map of the world. The view point is from Central Europe. The sea is the Mediterranean, the island is Crete, across the Mediterranean you can see the Nile Delta and Egypt as well as the Red Sea and Sinai Peninsula.

Altdorfer shows the Northern European interest in landscape painting.

But wait … The Battle of Issus took place during Alexander’s invasion of the Persian Empire somewhere in modern-day Turkey. Why is the battle depicted as happening in Central Europe?

In the early 16th century, Suleyman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, was attempting to expand the empire further into Europe. The Ottomans had conquered Balkan Peninsula and were even threatening the Holy Roman Empire. The Europeans were finally able to stop the Ottoman advance at the gates of Vienna.

Battle of Issus is an allegory for the European defeat of the Ottoman Turks. Alexander the Great and his army represent the forces of civilization and Christian Europe. Darius and the Persians represent the forces of barbarism and the infidel, Muslim, Ottoman Turks.

C. Albrecht Durer

1. Introduction

Born in Nuremberg, Germany Durer was the son of a goldsmith and initially trained in

his father’s workshop His earliest influences were the artistic traditions of

Northern Europe: Fine craftsmanship Precise detail Religious imagery and disguised symbolism

2. Prodigious talent with tremendous energy and versatility

A skilled painter in both oil and watercolor

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A skilled graphic artist who made awesome woodcuts and engravings

3. Two visits to Italy

Discovered new artistic styles and techniques Learned about classical sculpture and poses New conception of the artist: “In Italy, I am a gentleman;

at home, I am a parasite.” First Northern artist to fully absorb influences of the

Italian Renaissance and synthesize them with Northern Renaissance characteristics.

4. Raised the status of artists in Northern Europe

First artist outside Italy to become an international art celebrity

First northern artist to leave a record of his life and career through several excellent self-portraits, correspondence, and through a carefully detailed and readable diary.

5. The Leonardo of the North

Wrote theoretical treatises on a variety of subjects such as perspective, fortification, and ideal human proportions. For example, Durer published the Four Books of Human Proportions

Drew paintings of nature

6. Portraits

Reflect Durer’s desire to elevate the status of artists Show his ability to paint with detail and reveals that he

understood perspective Wanted to be perceived as a talented, Renaissance

gentleman Durer at age 28 – Frontal pose (shows how he wanted to

elevate his status – this pose was reserved for God, Jesus, and kings), resemblance to Christ, his patented signature with a message: “Albrecht Durer from Nuremberg, painted myself in my own colors at the age of twenty-eight,” Renaissance composition

7. Naturalist paintings (plants and animals)

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A hare – One of Durer’s most popular works. Painted in watercolor.

Large piece of turf – this watercolor is accurate down to the last detail. All of the plants can be identified.

Sketch of a crab Wing of a bird

8. Woodcuts and Engravings – Graphic Arts

Graphic arts involve the arts that involve making prints through various methods such as woodcuts, engravings, etchings, and lithography

Woodcuts are created by a relief process. The artist draws an image in ink on a block of wood. The background is then carved away leaving the design area slightly raised. The woodcut is inked, and the ink adheres to the raised image. It is then transferred to the damp paper either by hand or with a printing press.

Engravings are incised into a highly polished metal plate, usually of copper, with a cutting instrument called a burin. The artist then inks the plate and wipes it clean so that some of the ink remains in the incised grooves. An impression is made on damp paper in a printing press.

Key points: Durer created both woodcuts and engravings. The invention of the printing press meant that multiple

copies of woodcuts and engravings could be made As a result, Durer’s work became known throughout

Europe Durer became famous and wealthy. He was the first artist

known to sue another artist for copying his work.

9. Fall of Man

An engraving The subject, Adam and Eve committing the original sin,

is taken from the Old Testament of the Bible. Durer has synthesized the Italian Renaissance

characteristic of idealizing the human body based on

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classical proportions with the Northern Renaissance attention to precise detail and use of hidden symbols

Adam resembles Apollo Belvedere and Eve resembles statues of Venus

The animals symbolize the humors of the body – medieval medical philosophy that humors (fluids) determine human personality.

Goat on a precipice in the background – goats symbolize lust and the goat ready to jump symbolizes how Adam and Eve are ready to sin

Notice the tremendous detail in the landscape, the shading and proportions of the bodies of Adam and Eve. Remember that all of these details were carved into a metal plate.

Durer included an inscription with his initials in the upper left hand corner which shows that he wanted to receive credit for his own genius, raise the status of artists, and reflect his interest in humanist education.

10. The Knight, Death, and the Devil

An engraving The Knight – embodiment or personification of Christian

faith, a soldier of God. Note that the horse recalls Verrocchio’s equestrian statue of Bartolommeo Colleoni in Venice.

Saint Paul wrote in one of his epistles (letters) to the early Christian church that Christians should put on the full armor of God – the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, sword of the Word of God

Death – a corpse shaking an hourglass as a reminder of time and mortality

Devil – carries a pike and wears a boar’s head and bat wings.

Faithful dog

11. Four Horseman of the Apocalypse

Woodcut Durer believed that the end of the world was at hand The Protestant Reformation had begun and Durer was a

follower of the teachings of his fellow German, Martin Luther.

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Durer reflected his religious beliefs in his artwork and supported Protestantism (Christianity that broke away from the Roman Catholic Church)

The image is taken from the Book of Revelation in the New Testament

Death – rides a skeletal nag Famine – swings his scales Sickness – lifts a sword War – aims his arrow Note the priest at the bottom left being swallowed by a

monster!

D. Hans Holbein the Younger

1. Introduction German portrait artist trained by his father Left Germany on the advice of the renowned Christian

humanist Erasmus for England His ability to paint realistic portraits gained the attention

of Henry VIII, King of England Hans Holbein became a court painter for Henry VIII

2. French Ambassadors

Masterpiece in the National Gallery in London (Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Marriage Portrait is also there)

A portrait of two worldly, sophisticated men from France who were ambassadors to the court of Henry VIII. Jean de Dinteville (left), commissioned the painting of himself with his friend, Bishop Georges de Selve. Jean de Dinteville is 29 (age is inscribed on the handle of the dagger in his hand). Georges de Selve is 25 (his age is written on the pages of the book on which he rests his arm)

Exquisitely painted details – the painting is highly finished and includes the furniture, still-life objects between the two men, and details in the room such as the floor panels (The mosaic pattern on the floor is an accurate copy of the floor of Westminster Abbey)

Holbein was influenced by the work of the Italian Renaissance – notice how the ambassadors have massive, fully developed bodies, notice how the painting has a grand and logical composition and balance

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Holbein includes symbolism – a lute with a broken string, a celestial globe, a sundial (which shows the date as April 11, 1533), tools used by navigators during the Age of Discovery. These symbols show that the ambassadors are educated and sophisticated.

Religious symbolism – the broken string on the lute suggests the religious strife between Protestants and Catholics, the opened book contains a Latin hymn by Martin Luther as well as the Ten Commandments. The theme of the hymn and the Ten Commandments are acceptable to all Christians. Perhaps, Holbein was trying to encourage unity in the Christian faith. A small crucifix can be seen from behind the curtain.

The gray mark between the two men is an ANAMORPHIC IMAGE – a warped image that can be seen only by using a special looking device or by standing at an acute angle to the painting. When you stand at the appropriate acute angle on the right hand side of the painting you will notice that it is a skull.

3. Portraits of Henry VIII and his family

Holbein had the ability to portray his sitters realistically while subtly idealizing them

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