1. Ch 23 The Age of Reformation
16th Century Art in Northern Europe and Spain

2. Protestant Reformation:
Spain became the dominant power in Europe by end of 16th cent
Establishment of Protestantism prompted the Catholic Counter-Reformation; result: split church & 100 years civil war
Reformation: growing dissatisfaction with the church
As seen in 15th cent: people sought spiritual connection through pilgrimages, joining orders, commissioning artwork like Book of Hours, rosaries, prints, & paintings for private devotions
1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 theses
Luther created vernacular Bible
Major issue was Pope was more concerned with gaining wealth and power rather than salvation of church members
Many 15th cent Popes came from wealthy families (such as Medici) intensified this perception
Martin Luther’s 95 theses outlined his objections to the church (sales of indulgences)
Bible should be only document and the structure of the church had to be changed-Pope later excommunicated the Pope
Luther kept two sacraments: baptism and Communion (the Lord’s Supper)-he said Christianity needed purging and cleaning up
How to achieve salvation? Attain redemption through good deeds done under God’s watchful eye
Bible was the sole scriptural authority (not a priest or pope); Luther created vernacular Bible

3. Lucas Cranach the Elder, Allegory of Law and Grace, ca
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Allegory of Law and Grace, ca. 1530, woodcut 10” x 1’ Fig 23-1
Differences between Catholicism and Protestantism are shown here in this WOODCUT
**Woodcuts are useful devotional aids since they are “lowkey” –affordable; good for educating the masses-printed easily, wide circulation
Shows difference between Catholicism (Old Test based on Luther) and Protest. (based on belief in God’s grace)
Separated by tree in the center, left Judgment Day has arrived, Christ’s appearance at top of the scene; hovering
**Cranach became known as the artist of the Reformation

4. Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, 1482, tempera on panel, 80” x 120”
Allegory:
Imbuing narratives, images or figures with symbolic meaning
Convey moral principles or philosophical ideas
Cultural conventions
Used throughout the history of art
Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, 1482, tempera on panel, 80” x 120”
Botticelli’s Primavera also known as “allegory of spring”
Allegory for spring, mythological figures
The picture celebrates the arrival of spring and is filled with mythological symbolism. Venus, Goddess of Love, is in the centre of an orange grove on her left Flora, Goddess of Flowers and Spring, appears clad in garlands of flowers. Next to Flora is the nymph Chloris, she is pursued by Zephyrus, God of Wind, who has a burning passion for her. The Roman poet Ovid describes Chloris as transforming into Flora, Goddess of Flowers, symbolising the beginning of spring, and Botticelli has placed both figures side by side within the same painting. On the right of Venus are The three Graces, female companions of the Love Goddess who perform their dance at the onset of spring. Next to the Graces stands Mercury, Messenger of the Gods, who inspects the orange grove and protects the garden from intruders.
Floating overhead at the centre of the picture is Amor, the son of Venus, he is blindfolded as he shoots his arrows of love, their flaming tips certain to intensify the emotion of love in whoever they strike.

5. Reformation Impact on the Arts:
Humanism continued to spread through Europe (north from Italy)
Catholics embraced church decoration
Protestant churches are often bare (no distractions)
Protestants did use a lot of prints (cheap, easy to distribute) Shift: Illuminated manuscripts to prints
Matthias Grunewald
Catholics embraced decoration as an aid to communicating with God, (Italian ceiling frescoes)
Protestants believed this could lead to idolatry and distracted viewers from focusing on real reason for church, communicate directly with God
Pro

6. Matthias Grunewald, Isenheim Altarpiece (closed), Crucifixion (Center Panel), from the Chapel of the Hospital of Saint Anthony, Isenheim, Germany, ca , oil on panel, 9’ 9 ½” x 10’ 9” (center panel); Fig 23-2
German artist who was a court painter who worked for the Archbishop of Mainz, Germany
This work reflects Catholic beliefs
Created for Monastic hospital order of Saint Anthony of Isenheim
Two pairs of moveable wings that open at the center, St Sebastian on left, St Anthony on the right, Lamentation in the predella
Placement of this altar in the choir of a church adjacent to a hospital indicates connection to illness as do the saints represented here
**Grunewald’s images serve as warnings: encouraging increased devotion from monks and hospital patients
Also offered hope to the suffering –Saint Anthony known for miraculous healing as well as inflictor of disease
Use of color-contrasts horror and hope with soft and subtle tones
Crucifixion: emphasizes Christ’s pain and suffering
**Theme of pain, suffering, illness and death but also hope, comfort and salvation

7. Matthias Grunewald, Isenheim Altarpiece, open (center shrine carved by Nikolaus Hagenauer), Fig 23-3

8. Detail: Grunewald, Isenheim Altarpiece, Temptation of Saint Anthony
Terrifying image of five temptations, depicted as assortment of ghoulish and bestial creatures in a dark landscape attacking St Anthony
Grotesque version of a man in the foreground, oozing boils, withered arms, distended stomach –Ergotism (rye bread makes ergot)
People knew the symptoms of this disease and recognized its symptoms: gangrene and convulsions –called St Anthony’s Fire - this disease treated here
Often treated with amputation: note that Christ’s legs look “amputated” when predella slid open; one arm on crucifix too looks severed
Grunewald selected and presented the iconography so that viewers from the hospital would understand

9. Albrecht Durer: International Art Celeb
1st artist outside of Italy to achieve art celebrity status
Uses his artwork to show Protestant views
Lots of images, diaries, details of his life
Self portraits!
Traveled widely, sold his prints, mom and wife helped to sell his work
Worked in woodcut, etching and watercolor
He brought a lawsuit against an Italian artist who copied his prints: first documented legal case over artistic copyright
Like da Vinci, Durer wrote treatises on variety of subjects; great influence on Europe with his images
Lots of self-portraits! Left a diary and lots of detailed communication about his life
Luther says Communion is commemorative not a reenactment, Durer shows Protestant viewpoints in his version of Last Supper
Parallel lines here with crosshatching
Last Supper, 1523, woodcut, 8” x 11” Fig 23-4

10. Albrecht Durer, The Fall of Man (Adam and Eve), 1504, engraving 9” x 7” Fig 23-6
Durer traveled to Italy to study classical art, renaissance ideas and he is one of the first northern renaissance artists to use Ren ideas from Italy
Two idealized figures; based on Vitruvian man proportion, looks like Classical sculpture-shows “perfect” male and female figures
Also shows naturalism; observation important-rendering of background and foliage and animals
Symbolic animals: choleric cat, melancholic elk, sanguine rabbit, and phlegmatic ox
Symbolism of cat and mouse in foreground symbolize relationship between Adam and Eve

11. Hans Holbein the Younger, The French Ambassadors, 1533, Oil and tempera on panel, 6’ 8” x 6’ 9” Fig 23-10
Hans Holbein the Younger ( ); Excelled as a portrait artist; trained by his father Holbein the Elder;
Portraits that reflected the Northern tradition of close realism that emerged in 15th cent Flemish Art
Italian ideas also show up with monumental composition, bodily structure and sculpturesque forms
Details! Attention to detail in men, clothing, room, table items
Holbein moved to England and became court painter under Henry VIII –double portrait of French Ambassadors
**Only painting signed by his full name –pride
Table: collection of objects –lute, compasses, sundial, flutes, globes –shows educated, worldy men
**Anamorphic image- seen with a special tool can be viewed at an angle-skull!
Scholars debate this image.. Death? Reminder of mortality-ponder death and resurrection?

12. Quinten Massys, Money-changer and his wife, 1514, oil on panel, 2’ 3” x 2’ 2” Fig 23-17
Artwork from the Netherlands: very prosperous area with trade, under political control of Spain
Protestant major religion, much work shows lives of society members, from all social strata
Professional man transacting business, holds scales, checking weight of coins on the table
Wife is reading a prayer book and stops to watch him
Very detailed, focus on material world, religious symbols: carafe with water, candlestick
**Two small vignettes: shows balance between worldly existence and commitment to God’s work
On right: two men talk, suggests idleness, gossip
Mirror: reflection of a man reading a bible-behind him a church steeple
Message on original frame reinforces these messages “let the balance be just and the weights equal”

13. Caterina van Hemessen, Self Portrait, 1548, oil on panel, 1’ x 9” Fig 23-19
Increased wealth in Netherlands: more time and money for portraits
**Self portrait by female artist, the first known northern European self –portrait of a woman
Confidently presents herself as an artist, interrupts painting to look at the viewer
Maulstick: used to steady the hand; her father trained her
Proper identification used by inscribing on the painting “Caterina van Hemessen painted me, 1548, her age 20”

14. Levina Teerlinc, Elizabeth I as a Princess, ca
Levina Teerlinc, Elizabeth I as a Princess, ca. 1559, oil on oak panel, 3’ 6” x 2’ 8” Fig 23-20
From Bruges, Belgium, a respected female artist invited to paint miniatures for courts of Henry VIII and his successors
Formidable rival to her contemporaries including Holbein, received greater compensation for her work then they did for theirs
Life sized portrait shows Elizabeth I, as a youth,
**Hemessen and Teerlinc were able to achieve high rank and success is a testament to their determination and skill
Also women played an important role as patrons of the arts

15. Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Netherlandish Proverbs, 1559, oil on panel, 3’ 10” x 5’ 4” Fig 23-23
Netherlands obsession with the proverbs, this depicts a village populated by wide range of people (peasants, nobles, clerics)
Bird’s eye view, array of activities, busy scene
Illustrates more than a hundred proverbs in this one painting, artist indulges audience’s passion for details and clever imagery
**Acts as a study of human nature

16. Spain! Dominant European power at the end of the 16th cent
Huge territory: Europe, W Medit, N Africa, New world
Promoted interests of the Catholic church
Italian classicism reached Spain

17. El Greco, The Burial of Count Orgaz, Santo Tome, Toledo, Spain, 1586, oil on canvas, 16’ x 12’ Fig 23-26
Domenikos Theotokpoulos, called “El Greco” ( ); born on Crete (Greece) but emigrated to Italy, viewed Italian frescoes and mosaics
Traveled to Venice and studied with Tintorettos and Titian –Mannerism influence! Back to Spain to work
**Strong personal blending of Late Byzantine and Late Italian Mannerism
Intense emotionalism, appealed to pious fervor of Spanish
Strong use of movement and light –prefigures Baroque style –work not Spanish really
Painted for a church; based on a legend of Count Orgaz, buried in the church, Saints Stephen and Augustine miraculously descended from heaven
To bury him
Firm realism below in heavenly area; celestial in a personal style,
Some upward glances connect the two halves; elongated figures in undefined spaces,
He uses Mannerist devices but hard to classify
**Primary concern: emotion, religious fervor, expressive style