Northern Renaissance

The Renaissance Spreads

Focus

• 1. Define Northern Renaissance.• 2. How did the Italian Renaissance

compare and contrast to the Northern Renaissance?• 3. What great impacts did the

Northern Renaissance have upon society? And today?

The Renaissance Spreads

• In the late 1400s, the renaissance spread to northern Europe and later to England. The printing press helped humanist ideas (Humanism) to spread, as did people who traveled.

• Northern Renaissance refers to the culture in places we know today as Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and the Netherlands. Like Italian artists, northern artists wanted their works to have greater realism, but they used different methods.

Johann Gutenberg – 1395-1468

• In 1456, Gutenberg used his printing press and printed the Bible the Bible in Latin.

• More Bibles could spread and people could read the Bible for the first time.

• This increased education and literacy (ability to read) among Europeans.

Desiderius Erasmus – 1466-1536

• Many scholars felt that the Catholic Church was corrupt and did not follow the teachings of Christ.

• A Catholic priest, living in the Netherland, Erasmus spoke out against the Catholic Church.

• Erasmus Message– Criticized corrupt clergy– Get rid of meaningless

Church rituals– Emphasized devotion to God

and Jesus' message.

Oil Painting

• One important method northern Renaissance artists developed was oil painting. First developed in Flanders – a region in northern Belgium today – oils let artist paint details and texture much easily.

• Artists on the Italian Peninsula painted on wet plaster with watercolor paint, which dries faster than oil and can crumble once dried.

Jan van Eyck – 1390 - 1441

Jan van Eyck

• A master of oil painting. His paintings show detail in every aspect of the subject.

• He was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and is generally considered one of the most significant Northern European painters of the 15th century.

The Arnolfini Marriage

Albrecht Durer – 1471-1528

One of the Greatest Artists• Durer was able to master

both perspective and fine detail. He is best known for his engravings.

• An engraving is made from an image carved on metal, wood, or stone. Ink is applied to the surface, and then the image is printed on paper

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The English Renaissance

• In England, the Renaissance took place in writing and theater more than in art. The Renaissance began in England in the later 1500s, during the rule of Elizabeth I.

• Theater was popular in England in the 1500s. Admission was only one or two cents, so even the poor could attend. English playwrights, or writers who create plays, wrote about people’s strengths, weaknesses, and emotions.

William Shakespeare• The greatest English writer of that era.

He wrote tragedies, comedies, and historical plays.

• Some of his great tragedies include Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. In each tragedy, the characters’ flaws cause their own downfall.

• Among his most famous comedies are A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, and Much Ado About Nothing.

• His best know historical plays include Henry V and Richard III.

• His plays are still read and performed today.

Review

• 1. Define Northern Renaissance.• 2. How did the Italian Renaissance

compare and contrast to the Northern Renaissance?• 3. What great impacts did the

Northern Renaissance have upon society? And today?

Apprentices, you will design a blueprint or rough draft of a product for a patron of the Renaissance. Determine which field you will become a master in. Also,

determine which patron you wish to attract.Once your masterpiece in the Renaissance style is created, write a letter to seek a Patron. Provide three reasons why you should be chosen as their master worker.

Apprentices• Architects

– Palaces, cathedrals, office, bridges, etc.

• Painters• Scientists• Inventors

– Weapons, flying machines, etc.

• Writers– Poems, plays, short stories, historical

books

Others

Patrons• Medici Family of Florence• Sforza Family of Milan• Pope in Rome• The Doge of Venice• King Henry VIII of England• Queen Elizabeth I of England• King Henry of France