The Renaissance in the North
Northern Europe in the 16th Century
Synthesis of new ideas from Italy
– Alternatives to traditional religious doctrine
– Enthusiasm for classical antiquity
– Emphasis on individualism
Culture and Politics
– Francis I, The Hapsburgs, The Tudors
– Scientific, religious movements
Benvenuto Cellini. The Saltcellar of Francis I, 1539-1543. Gold. Kunsthistorisches Musseum,
Vienna. The Male figure is Sea; the female is Land. The sculptor had fled to the French court after
the sack of Rome in 1527.
Leone Leoni. Bust of Emperor Charles V, 15331555. Bronze. Height. Height 44”.
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. The sculpture
deliberately portrayed the German ruler as a
Roman emperor, thus associating Charles with
both Italy and Classical antiquity. Note the eagle
at the base, symbol of imperial rule since Roman
times.
Causes of the Reformation
Economic and nationalistic self-interests
– Unfair political and economic papal demands
Maturation of humanist ideals
– Desire for more personal, interior piety
Moral and intellectual depravity of some clergy
– Wealth of monastic and episcopal lords
Renaissance Humanism and the Reformation:
Humanists and Reformers
Similarities
Public religious
aversions
Favored early Christian
writers over medieval
scholastics
Mastery of Biblical
languages
Differences
Nature of humanity
– Education vs. Grace
Universal truth found
through rational
exploration of religious
texts vs. Scriptura sola
Cultural Significance
of the Reformation
Spread of literacy “Printing Press”
– Diffusion of literature
– Proliferation of vernacular texts
Focus on the Word “Only the scriptures”
– Aural vs. visual
– Hymns
– Deeper personal spirituality
– Simplistic decoration
– Secular art
The Visual Arts in Northern Europe
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)
4 Italian, humanist influences
– Linear perspective
– Perception of the artist (Self-Portrait, 1500)
– Classical ideals of beauty, proportion
– Quest for knowledge, scientific precision
4 Woodcuts, engraving
4 Painting (Venetian influences)
Albrecht Durer. Self Portrait, 1500.
Panel. Alte Pinakothek, Munich. The
frontal pose and solemn gaze convey
Durer’s belief in the seriousness of
his calling.
-Durer adopted Renaissance
humanism’s concept of the artist as
an inspired genius, creating a unique
personal world.
-In other paintings Durer shows
complex line drawing rather the
color and brightness. Most of his
greatest works appear as woodcuts
or engravings.
-Use of printing press and and an
emphasis on prioritizing religious
work.
The Visual Arts in Northern Europe
Matthias Grünewald (c. 1470-1528)
Rejected Renaissance innovations
– Traditional religious themes
– Isenheim Altarpiece, Crucifixion (1515)
Political, religious sympathies
Tortured images
Lack of perspective, proportion
Matthias Grunewald.
Crucifixion.1515 Panel.
Musee’ d’Unterlinden,
Colmar.
Mary Magdalene, Mary
and Apostle John.
John the Baptist points
to Christ’s sacrifice. “He
must increase, but I
must decrease.”
The Visual Arts in Northern Europe
Albrecht Altdorfer (1480-1538)
Personal worldview through landscape
– Danube Landscape (1522-1525)
– No human figures
Contemplation on beauties of nature
– Sympathy with natural forces
– Light, scale, vitality
Painting in the Netherlands
Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516)
Pessimistic view of human nature
– Human folly
– Inevitable punishment for sin
Garden of Earthly Delights (1505-1510)
– Pleasures of the body lead to damnation
– Private and complex symbolism
Hieronymus Bosch. Garden of Earthly Delights, 1505-1510. Panel. Prado, Madrid. Triptych (a three-paneled
painting) known as the Garden of Earthly Delights. There are hundreds of nude figures engaged in the pursuit
of erotic pleasure. The painting reads left to right a story of innocents, pleasure and consequence.
The right panel (consequence panel) symbolizes Bosch’s hell. A lute and harp, symbols of heavenly music, are
used as instruments of torture, while a gambler is pinned to his table. The fires of Hell rage in the background.
Painting in the Netherlands
Pieter Bruegel, the Elder (1525-1569)
Futility of human existence
– Pervasiveness of sin
Order, purpose in natural cycles
– Triumph of Death (1562-1564)
– Hunters in the Snow (1565)
Scenes from peasant life
Art and Architecture in France
Jean Clouet (c. 1485-1541)
– Francis I (c. 1525-153)
French Gothic + Italian Renaissance
– Château de Chambord
Emphasis on decoration
– Square Court of the Louvre
Chateau de Chambord, France, 1519. The turrets and pinnacles are French medieval architecture
Art in Elizabethan England
16th-century stability, prosperity
Relations with Netherlands, Spain
Nationalism
– Hans Holbein, the Younger (1497/8-1543)
– Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)
Hans Holbein the Younger.
Henry VIII in Wedding Dress,
1540. This wedding, when he
was in his 49th year, was
probably the ill-fated one to his
fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
-Henry VIII reigned from
1509-1547.
-Broke from Roman Church in
1534 because the pope refused
to grant him an annulment
from his first wife, Katherine
of Aragon.
-Tried and killed English
Catholics for political
treason and Protestants for
religious heresy.
Hans Holbein the Younger. Anne of
Cleves, 1539-1540. Vellum applied to
canvas.
After viewing this portrait, Henry VIII
sent for Anne of Cleves and made her
his fourth queen. Note the formal pose
and suitably modest gaze.
-This painting inspired Henry VIII to
marry this princess, but divorced her
six months later.
Nicholas Hilliard. Ermine
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth. I,
1585. Oil on canvas. Hatfield
House, England.
-The ermine on the queen’s
sleeve is a symbol of virginity.
The portrait as a whole is a
symbol of her majesty.
Music of the Northern Renaissance
Complexity of style, polyphony
Instrumental accompaniments
Lyrical narratives
German and Flemish songs
– Romantic, military, political
– Isaac
Music of the Northern Renaissance:
Elizabethan Music
English Litany (1544)
– Simplified Gregorian Chant
– The Boke of Common Praier Noted (1549)
William Byrd (c. 1543-1623)
– Protestant compositions, Catholic masses
– Virginal instrumentation, madrigals
English Literature
Humanism in England
– Caxton’s printing press
– Increased literacy
Classical models
– Thomas More (1478-1535)
– Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
– Edmund Spencer (1552-1599)
English Literature
English Drama
– Increasing prosperity and leisure
– Traveling actors, noble patrons
– Permanent theater buildings
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
– Humanity defeated by destiny
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
– Classical models, complicated plots
– Psychological motivation, problems of human
existence