The Northern Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance Begins   By 1450 the population of Northern Europe was recovering from the Bubonic Plague   years war between France and England was over   England and France under strong monarchs who sponsored the arts (i.e. Francis I of France invited da Vinci to retire in France and hired Italian artists to rebuild his castle at Fountainebleau   As ideas left Italy, they mingled with northern traditions- so, own character developed   Northern humanists more interested in religious ideas than secular Italy- some developed plan for social reform based on Christian values

Artistic Ideas Spread to Germany   1494 French king claimed the throne of Naples and launched an invasion through northern Italy- this led many Italian artists and writers to flee north   German painters o Albrecht Duerer- son of a goldsmith, who decided to become a painter. Went to Italy to study. Made woodcuts and engravings. His work inspired other German artists o Hans Holbein the Younger – specialized in painting portraits that are almost photographic in detail – had great success in England  

And to Flanders….. Flemish Painters o Similar to Italy, wealthy merchant families liked the emphasis on individualism and worldly pleasures and paid for art o Jan van Eyck – used oil-based painting (which doesn’t dry quickly and lends itself to blending)- very realistic subjects and portrayals o Pieter Bruegel the Elder – interested in people, painted everyday life, or anger at Spanish rule over them

Northern Writers try to reform society   Christian humanists- adapted humanism and gave it a more religious slant   Desiderius Erasmus o Holland- born in Rotterdam o Wrote The Praise of Folly, which poked fun at greedy merchants, heartsick lovers, quarrelsome scholars, and pompous priests o Believed in Christianity of the heart- everyone should read the Bible   Thomas More o 1516 Utopia about an imaginary land of peace-loving people (in Greek utopia means “no place” but in English its meaning changed)

Francios Rebalais and William Shakespeare o Wrote in vernacular French instead of Latin (like More and Erasmus) o Gargantua and Pantagruel- poked fun at society o Believed people were basically good and should live by their instincts instead of religious rule   William Shakespeare o 1564 born in Stratford-upon-Avon, by 1592 living in London and writing plays and poems o His work shows a deep understanding of human beings – Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream- all show human flaws

Elizabethan Age   Renaissance England is also called the Elizabethan Age, for Queen Elizabeth I, who reigned from 1558 – she was well-educated, knew many languages, and patronized the arts

Printing Spreads Renaissance Ideas   Chinese had invented block printing o 1045 Bi Sheng invented movable type (but not practical for Chinese because they had so many characters) o By 13 th century block-printed items reached Europe

Johann Gutenberg   a craftsman from Mainz, Germany, reinvented movable type around 1440 o Then went on to invent the printing press (which was easy for European languages which don’t have that many letters in their alphabets) o 1455 printed the Gutenberg Bible- first full-size book printed with movable type

Printing Spreads Learning o Printer could produce hundreds of copies o Books are cheap- so more people buy them o By 1500 presses in 250 cities had printed 9-10 million books o Spread of new ideas increased o Encouraged learning and led to rise in literacy o Writing in the vernacular- more people read the Bible themselves- ultimately leads to church reform