1. The Northern countries of the 15th-16th centuries ----Rebirth or Reform??
Styles and innovations develop differently than the Italian Renaissance
Rise of the merchant class in Lowlands
Oil paint is developed and used in the north by 1425, the same time that perspective is defined in Italy
Paintings become portable
North does not have classical antiquity as inspiration
More of an extension of Gothic art and teutonic values
Interest in symbolism, meticulous craft, as well as in observing nature
Women painters have higher status
Protestant Reformation changes patrons
--Martin Luther reacts against the excesses of the church
--Lay movement-people should interpret Bible for themselves
--John Calvin (very strict; no ornamentation)
Renaissance developed later in the North
Did not have the influence of ancient antiquity
More of an outgrowth of the Middle Ages
Were interested in symbolism
Also in observation of nature.
Women painters freer to join guilds and pursue art full time
Caterina van Hemessen
Portrait of a Merchant
c. 1530, oil on panel
Jan Gossaert

2. Today’s Netherlands and No
Today’s Netherlands and No. France = 15th and 16th century Lowlands = Flanders, Belgium, Burgundy
Sea port-important for trade
Flanders/Flemish= Belgium and No. France
Holland=the Netherlands
Burgundy=No. France
Charles V (R. Catholic) ruled Spain, Flanders, Germany, and Austria; tried to squash Protestant Reformation
Northern artists traveled to other countries looking for commissions
Northern Europe, because it had ports on the sea, became important
Especially Flanders
People called Flemish
Charles V ruler of Spain, Flanders, Germany and Austria
England under control of Henry VII and then Henry VIII
Northern artists traveled to different courts looking for commissions. Often worked in other countries

3. Robert Campin (c. 1375-1444) Merode Altarpiece, c
Robert Campin (c ) Merode Altarpiece, c triptych, tempera on wood, Annunciation
Robert Campin
Merode Altarpiece, c
Subject is annunciation
Right shows Joseph in carpenter’s shop
Middle class home as setting
No haloes
Full of religious symbolism from medieval times
Lily references Mary’s virginity
Roses also symbol of Mary
Reading passage about virgin bearing a son
Water jug and towel refer to baptism

4. Hubert and Jan van Eyck Ghent Altarpiece, 1432
Polyptych
Intricate, jewel-like
Oil on wood—
One of the first attempts using oil to create a successful surface
Adam and Eve
clothed in
the 1800s
Cain killing Abel— grisaille= painting in grey as though stone
Lamb of God represents Jesus who takes away the sins of the world
Hubert and Jan van Eyck
Ghent Altarpiece, 1432
Oil on wood
11’6” x 15’ 1”
commissions for Philip the Good of France
altarpiece commissioned by Joos Vigd, a minor noble who made money thorugh wool trade
Hubert sculpted the frame while Jan painted the panels
Frame destroyed in the late 16th century during religious strife. Panels hidden for safekeeping
Polyptych—many panels
Amazing color and use of oil
Symbolism—triple tiara worn by the pope, three part nature of God, crown at feet signifies king of kings, lilies, roses, Adam and Even represent redeemed humanity, dove as Holy Spirit, Lamb on altar is sacrifice of Jesus

5. van Eyck’s Mary and Jesus
the triumph of Realism and hidden symbolism

6. Jan van Eyck The Arnolfini Marriage, 1434 oil on wood
Record of marriage
Arnolfini was from Italy
Worked for the Medici in Bruges
Symbolism of the everyday as well as the wealthy—
shoes = domesticity
dog = fidelity
single candle lit=God’s presence (perhaps)
oranges=fertility, health, wealth
In mirror=two witnesses for a marriage
“vanEyck was here”
The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami, 1434
Also called The Arnolfini Marriage
Arnolfini and his bride were both from Lucca in Italy
He worked in Bruges for the Medici
Record of their marriage vows
Marriage, before it became one f the seven sacraments during the Council of Trent, could be performed in private by joining hands and pledging faith.
Artist is a witness. Signature is on the wall.
Very realistic and textured
Symbolism—dog stands for fidelity, apples refer to Adam and Eve and the original sin, ten scenes on the mirror are Christ’s Passion, death and human salvation. Whisk broom represents domesticity, statuette above the chair is Margaret, patron saint of childbearing women, Giovanna’s hand is over her womb, single lighted candle represents Flemish marriage custom as well as the all-seeing eye of God.

7. Hieronymus Bosch Garden of Earthly Delights, oil on wood, 7’2”x 6’5” along with Creation of Eve (left) and Hell (right)
Could a science fiction illustrator do any better?
(“Lovers” from center panel)

8. Music is evil…what else will send you to Hell?

9. the antichrist is coming, in the 16th century mind….
reveals the subconscious drive of human behavior
Bosch self-portrait

10. Albrecht Durer, Germany
Self Portrait
Oil on wood, 1498
“I made this according to my appearance when I was 26.”
The Great Piece of Turf
1503, watercolor and tempera on paper
---Not even the smallest clump of sod is excluded from God’s gaze.

11. Durer – one of the greatest masters of graphic art
Adam and Eve (1504, engraving) and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1497, woodcut)
War, famine, death and conquering will do us in….

12. Durer’s Melancholia I Engraving, 1514 Can you find: an hourglass
Perhaps part of a series on man’s “humours”: sanguine (blood); melancholic (bile); phlegmatic (phlegm); choleric (yellow bile)—describes temperaments of humans
Can you find:
an hourglass
a magic square
an unbalanced scale
a faint human skull
in a rhombus shape
a bat
a comet
a depressed sheep
an empty ladder
Engraved printing =
carving an image on a metal plate with a burin, then inking and pressing the plate onto paper

13. Protestant Reformation---1517
Martin Luther nails protest on the church door in Wittenberg (present day Germany)
Objects to the Pope and Catholic Church selling indulgences
Feels that man has “free will” to do right or wrong
The new invention of the printing press helps to strengthen the protest by distribution of pamphlets to the masses
England pulls away from the Catholic Church
Henry VIII needs divorces from his 6 wives
Wants full control over subjects
Objects to papal power
Establishes the Anglican Church of England

14. Pieter Bruegel (“Peasant Bruegel”) the Elder The Peasants’ Wedding 1568, oil on wood
Where is the bride? the groom?

15. Pieter Bruegel the Elder Hunters in the Snow, oil on panel,1565

16. The Ambassadors Hans Holbein (German) oil and tempera on wood, 1533
Painted for the elegant court of Henry VIII, England
French diplomats carrying a message to the king of England
Spiritual and worldly mix
Hymnal is open to a song by Martin Luther
Lute has a broken string
Glorifies the age of exploration
Memento mori---”you, too, shall die”