The Northern Renaissance 1400 - 1600

Early Northern Renaissance Art Tapestries Enormous in size Hung to cover walls in wealthy homes Expensive, delicate, handcrafted objects Gold, jewels, and other expensive materials Often only displayed for a short time Were melted down to create new objects to show off Painting was not originally seen as the greatest art form Often simply used to decorate sculpture Sculpture was viewed as the most impressive art form Used on buildings, monuments, and in church altarpieces Books of Hours Highly illustrated personal prayer books In the tradition of illuminated manuscripts Painted illustrations became more and more realistic and 3- dimensional

Jan Van Eyck, 1390 - 1441 Most influential Northern Renaissance artist - first celebrity painter Painted in an incredible, never-before-seen realistic manner Complex details and attention to the way light hits objects in real life Painted jewels so realistically, some people thought he had found a way to turn paint into precious stones Developed oil painting as we know it today Responsible for raising the status and importance of painting Responsible for raising the status of the painter in art Responsible for raising the status of portrait painting Most famous work: The Ghent Altarpiece

Renaissance Ideas in Northern Europe From 1400s on, ideas and artistic ideals began to spread from Italy. Early Northern Renaissance continued in tradition of Jan Van Eyck, who was Northern Europe’s famous virtuoso painter at the time. Dutch and Flemish artists were masters of Northern Renaissance painting. Antwerp Mannerism refers to Northern painters who showed some Italian influence, as well as the traditional style of Northern painters.

Hieronymus Bosch Analysis of The Garden of Earthly Delights 1450-1516 Famous Northern European painter Unusual style unlike his peers Most famous work is The Garden of Earthly Delights Known for dark and disturbing visions, which he represented in his art Painted religious themes, especially concerned with morality Belonged to the Brotherhood of Our Lady, a Catholic organization that commissioned many of his early works. Analysis of The Garden of Earthly Delights