Objectives
 Describe the new kind of portraiture that emerges during
the early Renaissance.
 Contrast the developments in sculpture and architecture
in Italy and in Northern Europe.
 Describe new techniques in painting and printmaking
that become important during the Renaissance.
NORTHERN
Things to Know for
RENAISSANCE
 The differences between the two cultures:
 ITALY  change was inspired by humanism (emphasis on
past)
 NORTHERN EUROPE  change driven by religious reform
(Reformation), Christian values, extension of Gothic art.
Interest in symbolism, realism & naturalism
 Women painters have higher status
 More emphasis on middle-class and peasant life.
 Painting in OIL, developed in Flanders (adopted in Italy)
Historical Background
 New middle class from personal wealth instead
of inherited wealth
 Many Art Patrons
 Focus on Humanism
 Extended Education
 Led to the Protestant Reformation
…Continued
 Burgundy = Central France, Belgium,
Luxembourg, and the Netherlands
 Intuitive Perspective
 Approximating the appearance of things growing
smaller and closer together in the distance
 Atmospheric Perspective
 Applied to landscape scenes based on observation
that distant elements appear less distinct and less
colorful than things close by
 Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, and Flight into Egypt
Champmol Altarpiece
Melchior Broederlam
1393-1399
Oil on Wood Panel
Well of Moses
 Life-Size Stone
Figures
 Old Testament
Prophets
 Distinct
Well of Moses
Claus Sluter
1395-1496
Limestone
 Three Brothers: Paul, Herman,
and Jean
 Entered the service of Duke John
Berry
 Very Lavish Book of Hours
 Selection of prayers and readings
 Included both peasant labors and
aristocratic pleasures
Tres Riches Heures
(Very Rich Hours)
Limbourg Brothers
1413-1416
Women Artists
 Typically learned to paint from their relatives
 Formal apprenticeships weren’t open to women
Mary at Her Devotions
Mary of Burgundy Painter
1482
 Book of Hours
 Pictorial Space
– Windows
 Mary of
Burgundy
appears twice
 Rosary =
Mary’s Devotion
 Carnations =
Nails of Christ
 Iris’ = Mary’s
grief
Fiber Arts
 Flemish tapestries
 Lavish Details
 Finest in Europe
 Materials
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Wool
Silk
Silver
Gold
 Many tapestries didn’t survive the French Rev.
 burned to retrieve precious materials
The Unicorn Tapestry
 People and animals in a dense field of trees and
flowers
 Unicorn:
 Cloven Hooves
 Goat’s Beard
 Horn thought to be an antidote to poison
 Unicorn became a symbol of the Incarnation of
Christ
 Killing of the Unicorn equated to Christ’s death
…Continued
 Lion
 Courage
 Stag
 Resurrection
 Serpent
 Evil
 Rabbits
 Fertility
 Dogs
 Fidelity
Unicorn At the Fountain
Unicorn Tapestry
1495-1505
Painting in Flanders 15th Cen
 Economy based on textiles
 Provided $$$ for the arts to flourish
 Civic groups, town councils, and wealthy
merchants = Patrons
 Perfected the technique of oil as a medium
 Center = Annunciation
 Symbolizing the Purity and Mission of the Virgin
 Book
 Extinguished Candle
 Towels
 Fire Screen
 Right =
 Joseph setting
a mousetrap
 Left =
 Two donors
kneeling
 Setting = Flemish
Home
Jan Van Eyck
 Campin’s contemporary
 Traveled on missions for Duke Phillip
 Used oil on wood
 Applied oil in thin layers that allowed
brushstrokes to blend perfectly
 Ghent Altarpiece
Ghent Altarpiece
 Painted by Jan and Hubert Van Eyck
 Polyptych: Many panels
 Center


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God wearing the crown of Saint Peter
John the Baptist
Virgin Mary
Flanked by musicians and Adam and Eve
 Cain and Abel depicted above Eve
 Bottom
 All saints gather to adore the Lamb of God
 Lamb stands on an altar
 Blood = Fountain of Life
Ghent Altarpiece (Closed)
Jan and Hubert Van Eyck
1432
Oil
Man in Red Turban
 “As I Can”
 Believed to be a self-portrait of Jan Van
Eyck
 No religious undertones
 Physical appearance seems magnified
 Painting in High Def
Man in a Red Turban
Jan Van Eyck
1433
Oil on Wood
Arnolfini and his Wife
 Suggests a wedding or betrothal
 “Jan Van Eyck was present”
 Arnolfini is a member of an Italian merchant family living
in Flanders
 Hold hand of a woman before two witnesses
 Symbolism
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Dog: Fidelity
Shoes: Holy Ground
Saint Margaret: Childbirth
Oranges: Fertility
Medallions on Mirror: Depictions from the Passion
Candle: God’s All Seeing Eye, and Unity
Arnolfini and his Wife
Jan Van Eyck
1434
Oil on Wood
The Deposition
 Rogier Van Der Weyden
 Altarpiece
 Popular theme
 Dramatic
 Emotional
 Jesus in the center
Last Judgment Altarpiece
 Painted for a hospital
 Archangel Michael dressed in white

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

dominates the center under God
Mary and John at the edge of the rainbow
Barren earth at the bottom
Figures reacting to the Judgment of God
Patrons depicted on the front
The Last Judgment Altarpiece
Rogier van der Weyden
Portrait of a Lady
Rogier van der Weyden
1455
Oil and Tempera on Wood
A Goldsmith and His Shop
 Goldsmith believed to be Saint Eligius
 Patron Saint of Metalwork
 Goldsmith weighs a jeweled ring as a
couple looks on
 Double horned headdress fashionable
during mid-century
 Mirror shows the street outside
A Goldsmith and His Shop
Petrus Christus
1449
Oil
Wrongful Execution of the Count
 Empress falsely accuses a count of sexual

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
impropriety
Otto has the count beheaded
Countess receives husbands head
Empress is burning at the stake in the
background…Karma is a….
Use of atmospheric perspective
Wrongful Exevution of the
Count
Dirck Bouts
1470-75
Oil on Wood
Justice of Otto III
Dirck Bouts
1470-75
Oil on Wood
Portinari Altarpiece
 Hugo Van Der Goes
 Dean of the painters guild in Ghent
 Commissioned by Tommaso Portinari
 Head of the Medici bank

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Wings contain the Portinari family
Nativity
Glass vessel = Mary’s womb
Blue flowers remind Mary of future sorrows
Scattered violets symbolize humility
Portinari Altarpiece (Open)
Hugo van der Goes
1474-76
Oil on Wood
Fouquet Diptych
 Jean Fouquet strongly influenced by




Flemish realism
Painted a diptych showing Chevalier
praying to the Virgin and Child
Nearly grisaille
Saint wears ritual cloth
Large stone on gospel = martyrdom
Etienne Chevalier and
Saint Stephen
Jean Fouquet
1450
Oil on Wood
Virgin and Child
Jean Fouquet
1450
Oil on Wood
Flamboyant Style
 Flamboyant = Flaming
 Repeated, twisted, flamelike tracery
 Elaborate architectural decoration
 Themes of nature
 Church of Saint-MacLou in Rouen
embodies this style
Church of Saint-Maclou, Rouen
Pierre Robin
1432-1521
Normandy, France
Miraculous Drought of Fishes
 Konrad Witz
 Largest commission before his early death
 Dedicated to Saint Peter
 Depicts Jesus’ calling of the fisherman
Miraculous Drought of Fishes
Konrad Witz
1444
Oil on Wood