Art & Northern Renaissance Medieval Art Artists depicted subjects in an unrealistic two-dimensional style Indicated the importance of the soul over the body. Disproportionate Flat/Dull Religious themes

Renaissance Art Use of oil paints 3-D and realism Lifelike Influenced by Greco-Roman culture Depth, shadows Bright colors (oil paints) Emotion, Religion, myth, everyday life

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci was a: Painter Sculptor Inventor Scientist A true “renaissance man”, he was interested in how things worked He studied how a muscle moved and how the veins are arranged on a leaf He filled notebooks with observations & new inventions One of his best known paintings is the portrait of Mona Lisa Leonardo also produced a famous religious painting, The Last Supper

Michelangelo Like da Vinci, Michelangelo was a true renaissance man He excelled at almost every area of study He was a painter, sculptor, architect & poet Michelangelo is most famous for the way he portrayed the human body He explored the Renaissance theme of human potential (humanism) by creating figures with power & grandeur Michelangelo designed the dome on St. Peter’s Basilica, working on it until his death in 1564 His most famous sculpture is David, an 18 foot tall tribute to the biblical hero He also painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome Many of his panels combine Christian themes with Greek values

Raphael Raphael was younger than Michelangelo & da Vinci He learned from studying their works One of Raphael’s favorite subjects was Madonna (Mary) & child (Jesus) His greatest achievement was the School of Athens It was painted on the walls of Pope Julius II’s library It shows classical & Renaissance figures listening to Greek philosophers Keep in mind Renaissance artists didn’t ignore religious themes Many of the times, popes were artists biggest patrons However, Renaissance artists incorporated realism & classical ideas when they did cover religious themes

Renaissance Spreads North By the late 1400s, Renaissance ideas spread to northern Europe-especially England, France, Flanders & Germany Visitors to Italy were impressed by the ideas of Renaissance writers & artists Merchants carried the ideas with them as they traveled By 1450 the population of northern Europe, which had been shattered by Plague, was recovering In addition, the destructive Hundred Years’ War between England & France ended in 1453 Many cities grew rapidly--Merchants & kings/queens sponsored the arts Northern Europe had monarchies, not city-states When a French king took over the throne in Naples (S. Italy) he launched an attack on N. Italy Many artists moved to other countries in Europe

Northern Renaissance Uniqueness As Renaissance ideas spread out of Italy, they mingled with northern traditions As a result, the Northern Renaissance developed its own character Many of the humanists there were more concerned with religious ideals, than secular themes popular in Italy The Renaissance ideal of human dignity inspired some northern humanists They developed plans for social reform (change) based on Christian values

Albrecht Duerer Albrecht Duerer was without doubt the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance. Found inspiration in the work of painters of both major European artistic centers of his time. Rather than simply imitating what others were doing, Duerer was very much an innovator. First artist who is known to have painted a self-portrait And to have done a landscape painting of a specific scene.

Albrecht Duerer The range and versatility of Duerer's work is astonishing. His woodcuts and engravings made him famous Still considered to be the greatest printmaker of all time. As an oil painter, Duerer was equally successful at religious and secular subjects Producing magnificent altarpieces and powerful portraits. His drawings and watercolors are impressive for their diversity of subject-matter

Hans Holbein Born in Augsburg, a rich merchant city with close trading relations with Italy The knowledge which Durer strove for so passionately throughout his life… came more naturally to Holbein. Coming from a painter's family he absorbed the achievements of both the northern and the Italian artists. He was hardly over thirty when he painted the wonderful painting of the Virgin with the family of the burgomaster of Basle as donors.

Hans Holbein Holbein had careful attention to detail and a certain indifference to conventional beauty These were characteristics that show Holbein had learned his trade in the North. He was on his way to becoming the leading master of the German-speaking countries However the turmoil of the Reformation put an end to all such hopes.

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck was the greatest artist of the early Netherlands school. Held high positions in his career, including court painter and diplomat. So outstanding was his skill as an oil painter that its invention is often attributed to him. Exploited the qualities of oil, building up layers of transparent glazes Thus giving him a surface on which to capture objects in the minutest detail and allowing for the preservation of his colors.