Unit 6: Northern Renaissance

The Northern Renaissance encompassed areas outside Italy but within Europe. The important places are Netherlands, France and Germany, all of them located north of Italy, and thus was given the name Northern Renaissance.

In the 15^th century, Flanders was the centre of Northern Renaissance. It was part of Duchy of Burgundy whose Dukes were patrons of the arts and encouraged the production of paintings.

Jan van Eyck (1390-1441)

• court painter to Duke of Burgundy
• introduced oil painting technique
• concentrate more on details of the surface and light effects rather than proportion or perspective like the Italian Renaissance

The Arnolfini Portrait [oil on oak] by Jan van Eyck, National Gallery, London

 

When the Duchy of Burgundy was reabsorbed at the end of the 15^th century, Germany became the new hub of Northern Renaissance. There was an exchange of knowledge between Northern and Italian Renaissance during this time. Many artists took trips to Italy to learn from the classical antiquities as well as contemporary Italian art at that time.

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)

• took two trips to  Italy
• applied what he learnt into his work (perspective, lines)
• famous for his detailed engraving work
• used engraving lines to create tone and lighting
• figures are proportionate and anatomically correct
• wrote books on human proportion and measurement

Nemesis [engraving] by Albrecht Durer

 

Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516)

• painted imaginary and fantasy scenes that is filled with weird things (giant animals bigger than human beings) and weird actions (animals feeding human being with fruits)
• objects in paintings have symbolic meaning
• use painting as a tool to teach viewers about religion and sin

The Temptation of St Anthony (centre panel of triptych) by Hieronymus Bosch

 

Bibliography

Bosch, H. (c.1500) The Temptation of St Anthony (centre panel) [oil on panel] [online image] Place: National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon. Available from: http://www.bridgemaneducation.com [Accessed: 3 April 2011]

Dürer, A. (c.1501) Nemesis [engraving] [online image] Place: Leeds Museums and Galleries (City Art Gallery, UK. Available from: http://www.bridgemaneducation.com [Accessed: 3 April 2011]

Gold, M. (1989) The Northern Renaissance. [DVD] United Kingdom: T.V.S. Television Ltd

Honour, H. and Fleming, J. (2009) A world history of art. Revised 7^th ed. London: Laurence King

van Eyck, J. (1434) The Arnolfini Portrait [oil on oak] [online image] Place: National Gallery, London. Available from: http://www.bridgemaneducation.com [Accessed: 3 April 2011]