Northern Renaissance
North vs. Italy “Northern” Renaissance applies to any European country outside of Italy Predominant areas: France, Netherlands, and Germany Northern maintained Gothic period of art for a longer time (into the 16th century instead of 15th) Northern did not have the free commerce areas that Italy held with one exception: Burgundy Burgundy: area that was from the middle to the Northern sea of what we now know as France Without a wealthy merchant class like Italy and Burgundy, there are no wealthy patrons of art Northern patrons interested in illuminated manuscripts (still), tapestries and furnishings To recap: Italian patrons wanted paintings, architecture and sculpture Northern not happy with the religious ideals from Rome and created religious works intended to espouse their ideals
Compositional differences ***Northern: not as concerned with scientific influence upon art (proportion, linear perspective) interested in color before form incorporated extensive amounts of details Inverted, distant mirror reflections Used wood and developed oil paints due to geophysical factors
Similarities Both included religious ideology Both utilized the concept of guilds or apprenticeships in studios to learn professional craft Both had a dominant center: Italy had Florence and Burgundy had Flanders
Notable artists Jan van Eyck c. 1395-1441 Belgium Career field in Court Lucrative positions that paired him with Philip the Good, Duke of Burgandy The Good became close personal friend: godfather to one of Eyck’s children, supported Eyck’s widow, etc His financial independence allowed him to pursue painting as a second career
Eyck’s style Included signature, which is unusual for time Painted mirrors or reflective surfaces in backgrounds of artworks to include other subjects in environment off canvas Mastered the new medium of oil paint
The Arnolfini Marriage
Albrecht Durer 1471-1528 Born in Germany Father a goldsmith, where he apprenticed His amazing talent for figure drawing caused for a switch in apprenticeship to a painter Most known for his amazing works in print and drawing
The Four Horseman of the Apocolypse
The Knight, Death and the Devil
Erasmus
Self Portrait at 26
Resources http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/north_ren.htm http://ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/eyck/arnolfini/ http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/durer/
comparative Andrea del Verrocchio Jan Gossaert, called Mabuse (attr. to) Madonna of the Fireplace