15th Century Northern Renaissance
Things to Know for
NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
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Did not have classical antiquity as inspiration
More of an extension of Gothic art
Interest in symbolism
Also interested in observing nature
Women painters have higher status
Should not be considered an appendage to Italian art.
But, Italian influence was strong.
– Painting in OIL, developed in Flanders, was widely adopted in Italy.
The differences between the two cultures:
– ITALY  change was inspired by humanism with its emphasis on
the revival of the values of classical antiquity.
– NORTHERN EUROPE  change was driven by religious reform, the
return to Christian values, and the revolt against the authority of the
Church.
More princes & kings were patrons of artists.
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Things to Know for
NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
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The continuation of late medieval attention to details.
Tendency toward realism & naturalism [less emphasis on the
“classical ideal”].
Interest in landscapes.
More emphasis on middle-class and peasant life.
Details of domestic interiors.
Great skill in portraiture.
15th Century Northern Renaissance
The Très Riches Heures du Duc
de Berry or simply the Très
Riches Heures (The Very Rich
Hours of the Duke of Berry) is a
richly decorated Book of Hours
(containing prayers to be said by
the faithful at each of the canonical
hours of the day) commissioned
by Jean, Duke of Berry, around
1410.
It illustrates the various seasonal
tasks throughout the various
months.
Limbourg Brothers
Tres Riches Heures
(Very Rich Hours)
1413-1416
Les Tres Riches Heures
15th Century Northern Renaissance
15th Century Northern Renaissance
September Harvesting grapes
December Wild boar hunt
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Jean, Duke de Berry
(featured on January’s page)
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Melchior Broederlam
Annunciation and Visitation and
Presentation and Flight into Egypt, 1399.
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Petrus Christus
A Goldsmith in his Shop 1449
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Jan Van Eyck, Giovanni Arnolfini
and His Bride, 1434.
Petrus Christus, A Goldsmith in His Shop, 1449
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Dirck Bouts
Virgin and Child
1455
15th Century Northern Renaissance
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Fifteenth-Century Flemish
Dirk Bouts Last Supper (center panel of the
Altarpiece of the Holy Sacrament), St. Peter’s
Louvain, Belgium. 1464-1468
This painting is the first northern one to
used a single vanishing point for
constructing an interior and he adjusts
figures’ scale to correspond to the space
they occupy. The perspective isn’t perfect
however. The windows and side rooms do
not adhere to the rules of linear
perspective.
It was the first Flemish panel painting
depicting this event. He didn’t focus on the
biblical narrative itself but instead
presented Christ in the role of a priest
performing a ritual from the liturgy of the
Christian Church.
This contrasts sharply with other Last
supper depictions. The people depicted
are most like portraits of the confraternity’s
members responsible for commissioning
the altarpiece.
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Hugo van der Goes
Portinari Altarpiece
1474
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Altarpiece, 1474-76.
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Hans Memling
Diptych of Maarten van Nieuwenhove
1487
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Hans Memling
Diptych of Maarten van Nieuwenhove
1487
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Pop Quiz!
Giotto,
The Visitation
Arena Chapel, 1305.
LATE GOTHIC
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Guess That
NORTHERN
RENAISSANCE
Piece!
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Limbourg Brothers
Tres Riches Heures
(Very Rich Hours)
1413-1416
15th Century Northern
Jan VanRenaissance
Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece (open), 1432
EARLY NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Jan Van Eyck
Giovanni Arnolfini and His
Bride
1434
EARLY NORTHERN
RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Jan van Eyck
Man in a Red Turban
1433, Oil on wood
EARLY NORTHERN
RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Rogier Van Der Weyden,
Deposition, 1435.
EARLY NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Jan van Eyck,
The Annunciation,
1434.
EARLY NORTHERN
RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Petrus Christus
A Goldsmith in His Shop,
1449.
EARLY NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Rogier Van Der Weyden
Portrait of a Lady
1460
EARLY NORTHERN
RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Hugo van der Goes,
Portinari Altarpiece (open)
1474-76.
EARLY NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Robert Campin,
Merode Altarpiece(open),1425
EARLY NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Jan Van Eyck,
Ghent Altarpiece
(closed), 1432
EARLY NORTHERN
RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Giotto
Madonna Enthroned
ca. 1310.
LATE GOTHIC /
PROTO-RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Robert Campin,
Merode Altarpiece(open),1425
EARLY NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Chartres Cathedral
1134-1220
HIGH FRENCH GOTHIC
South Tower,1160
North Spire, 1506-1513
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Duccio, “Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints”
Principle panel of the Maesta alterpiece, from the Siena Cathedra,
Siena, Italy, 1308-1311 Tempra on wood panel
LATE GOTHIC / PROTO-RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Augustus of Primaporta,
Early 1st Century BCE
REPUBLIC ROME
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Duccio, The Arrest of Jesus,
(detail from back of the Maesta altarpiece). Siena, Italy. 1309-1311
LATE GOTHIC / PROTO-RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Dying Gaul
Pergamon, Turkey ca. 230-220 BC
HELLENISTIC PERIOD
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Giotto
Lamentation, ca. 1305
Arena Chapel, Padua, Italy
LATE GOTHIC /
PROTO-RENAISSANCE
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Spoils of Jerusalem, relief panel from the Arch of Titus,
Rome, Italy, after A.D. 81 EARLY EMPIRE ROMAN
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Arch of Constantine
Rome, Italy A.D. 312-315
LATE EMPIRE ROMAN
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Emperor Justinian and his Attendants, Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, c547.
15th Century Northern Renaissance
Pantheon, Rome, Italy. 125-128 AD HIGH EMPIRE ROMAN