The Northern Renaissance, an introduction

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1 The Northern Renaissance, an introduction Albrecht Dürer, Adam and Eve, 1504, engraving, fourth state, 25.1 x 20 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) The word Renaissance is generally defined as the rebirth of classical antiquity in Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Seems simple enough, but the word Renaissance is actually fraught with complexity. Scholars argue about exactly when the Renaissance happened, where it took place, how long it lasted, or if it even happened at all. Scholars also disagree about whether the Renaissance is a rebirth of classical antiquity (ancient Greece and Rome) or simply a continuation of classical traditions but with different emphases. Traditional accounts of the Renaissance favor a narrative that places the birth of the Renaissance in Florence, Italy. In this narrative, Italian art and ideas migrate North from Italy, largely because of the travels of the great German artist Albrecht Dϋrer. Dürer studied, admired, and was inspired by Italy, and he carried his Italian experiences back to Germany. Albrecht Dürer s contribution to the so-called Northern Renaissance is indisputable. However, so much changed in Northern Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that the era deserves to be evaluated on its own terms. Some of the most important changes in Northern Europe include the: invention of the printing press, c advent of mechanically reproducible media such as woodcuts and engravings formation of a merchant class of art patrons that purchased works in oil on panel Protestant Reformation and the translation of the Bible from the original languages into the vernacular or common languages such as German and French international trade in urban centers

artists such as Jan van Eyck introduced powerful and influential changes, such as the perfection of oil paint and almost impossible representation of minute detail, practices that clearly distinguish

2 The fifteenth century: van Eyck Jan (and Hubert?) Van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece or The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, 1432, tempera and oil on panel, 11' 5" x 7' 3" (open) (Cathedral of Saint Bavo, Ghent, Belgium) In the fifteenth century, Northern artists such as Jan van Eyck introduced powerful and influential changes, such as the perfection of oil paint and almost impossible representation of minute detail, practices that clearly distinguish Northern art from Italian art as well as art from the preceding centuries. Jan and Hubert van Eyck s Ghent Altarpiece, 1432 (Church of Saint Bavo, Ghent) exemplifies the grand scale and minute detail of Northern painting. This public, religious picture has an opened and closed position. On the interior (above) we see such holy figures as the Virgin, Christ, saints and angels. It also showcases the largesse of the donors (left), depicted kneeling on the lowest corners of the exterior, who employed the van Eyck brothers to immortalize them in this very public work of art. Jan (and Hubert?) Van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece or The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, 1432, tempera and oil on panel, 11' 5" x 7' 3" (closed) (Cathedral of SaintBavo, Ghent, Belgium)

Jan van Eyck s Arnolfini Double Portrait (1434) shows a well-to-do couple in a tasteful, bourgeois interior. The text in the back of the image identifies the date and Jan van Eyck as the artist.

3 Jan van Eyck s Arnolfini Double Portrait (1434) shows a well-to-do couple in a tasteful, bourgeois interior. The text in the back of the image identifies the date and Jan van Eyck as the artist. Art historians disagree about what is actually happening in the image, whetherjan Van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, tempera and oil on wood, 1434, 82.2 x 60 cm (National Gallery, London)this is a betrothal or a marriage, or perhaps something else entirely. One of the most important aspects of this painting is the symbolic meanings of the objects, for instance that the dog may symbolize fidelity ( Fido ) or that the fruit on the windowsill may signify either wealth or temptation. This painting is a touchstone for the study of iconography, a method of interpreting works of art by deciphering symbolic meaning. Though Jan van Eyck did not invent oil paint, he used the medium to greater effect than any other artist to date. Oil would become a predominant medium for painting for centuries, favored in art academies into the nineteenth century and beyond. The Arnolfinis counted as middle class because their wealth came from trade rather than inherited titles and land. The power of the merchant-class patrons of Northern Europe cultivated a taste for art made for domestic display. Decorating one s home is still a powerful motivation for art patrons. Museum visitors repeatedly comment, well, I wouldn t want it in my living room. The 16th century: Dürer Albrecht Dürer is the indisputable rock star of the German Renaissance. In addition to being a successful painter, Dürer built his reputation on his prints, both woodcut and engravings. Because prints can be made in multiples, he had an unusually broad audience. Mechanically reproducible media such as woodcuts and engraving not only helped Dürer disperse his ideas, they also made it possible for Northern artists to see Italian

4 art without traveling. Dürer likely had his first exposure to Italian art in Germany, in woodcut or engraved copies of Italian works. Looking at an Italian work of art in Germany may seem unremarkable to us. However, until prints were available all works of art were one of a kind, and the only way to see a new work of art was to travel. Prints were typically far less expensive than paintings and much lighter and therefore more portable. The switch from one-of-a-kind works of art to prints is in some ways comparable to the switch from buying or borrowing picture books to searching for images on Google. Among Dürer s best-loved works is the engravingmelancholia, 1514, which depicts the personification of melancholy, the temperament associated with artistic inspiration. The picture of the brooding figure, whose face resembles Dürer s famous self portraits, may be male or female. Some scholars believe Dürer s self portraits are androgenous. Though the face may be Dürer s, the garment looks feminine. Whatever the gender, the figure experiences the dreadful feeling of writer s block. Surrounded by all the tools needed to create a compass, a plane, nails s/he sits still, head in hand, and does nothing. The wings are a painful reminder of our limitations. Gifted with intelligence, imagination, and the desire to soar, the figure s small wings cannot lift such a weighty and substantial body. Bound up with the idea of frustrated creativity is the notion of creativity itself which took on its present meaning during the Renaissance. The space is like a fun house, never offering the viewer an Albrecht Dürer, Melencolia I, 1514, engraving, 24 x 18.5 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) opportunity to become oriented. Are we inside or outside? Where does the ladder start? Where does it lead to? The rhombohedron blocks the horizon, and all of the edges point out of the image, a seeming play of the logical system of horizon and orthogonal that create a unified space.

5 The printing press (images + text) Perhaps the most influential aspect of the Northern Renaissance is the combination of printed image with text together in books. The printing press was invented in Germany around Until the printing press, books were laboriously copied and illustrated by hand, one at a time. The combination of printed words and images created an explosion of information (rather like the change from typewriters to computers). The printing of books such as Luther s translation of scripture and illustrated polemical pamphlets accelerated the Protestant Reformation, a movement that re-aligned religious and national boundaries, and ultimately would motivate migration to the New World. While the Renaissance was happening in Italy, great artistic and social changes occurred in Germany and the Low Countries. A bias in favor of Italian art among earlier generalizations of scholars made Italy the focus of artistic invention and the Northern Renaissance a less sophisticated imitation of the real thing. One might debate whether the North experienced a Renaissance, but the artistic, institutional, and intellectual changes are evident. Essay by Dr. Bonnie J. Noble

An introduction to the Northern Renaissance in the fifteenth century

An introduction to the Northern Renaissance in the fifteenth century Share Tweet Email Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait, 1500 (Alte Pinakothek, Munich) https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/northern-renaissance1/beginners-guide-northern-renaissance/a/an-introduction-to-the-northern-ren...