The Northern Renaissance Reformation in Northern Europe

Religion and Politics Mix of civil and religious authority was rearranged Germany was split in its loyalty Switzerland pursued separation Italy remained true to the faith England didn’t reform, but switched head of the church

JOHN CALVIN ( ) trained in humanism and law in addition to theology. John Calvin of Geneva was a sophisticated Frenchman succeeded in establishing a Swiss Protestant theocracy in the city-state of Geneva, militant preaching inspired Protestants all over Europe. ultimate influence went beyond religion to economics.

ERASMUS ( ) born in Rotterdam, Germany became the greatest scholar of the northern Renaissance. important writer/analyst for Classical literature. His written works gained him a reputation throughout Europe such as Adages In Praise of Folly. wanted to see a massive program of education from which, he believed, would come a universal Christian church. It was a gigantic task, but because the Church was rich, Erasmus believed it could be accomplished if the Church rethought its priorities and cut waste. To this end, Erasmus appealed to the princes of Europe to take the lead in reforming the Church whenever the Church was unwilling to reform itself.

Martin Luther Luther was born in 1483 and died in He wrote that… faith is God's work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God. (John 1:13). It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith.

HENRY VIII of ENGLAND ( ) built upon the innovations instituted by his father The break with Rome, coupled with an increase in governmental bureaucracy, led to the royal supremacy that would last until the execution of Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth one hundred years after Henry's death.

ALBRECHT DURER ( ) Durer, whom many regard as Germany's greatest artist, could be described as the Leonardo of the northern Renaissance. Went to Italy to discover early Renaissance painting techniques (i.e. the major breakthroughs)

JAN VAN EYCK (c ) "The prince of painters of our age,“ work advances the new naturalism of the age brought a new "reality" to painting in such works as The Arnolfini Marriage.

Marriage bed – fertility and children St. Catherine on the bedpost – patron saint of childbirth. Candle symbolizing the light of Christ. Shoes – barefeet on solid ground Dog symbolizing fidelity Hands clasped Mirror reflecting artist.

The mirror is painted with almost miraculous skill. Its carved frame is inset with ten miniature medallions depicting scenes from the life of Christ. Yet more remarkable is the mirror's reflection, which includes van Eyck's own tiny self-portrait, accompanied by another man who may have been the official witness to the ceremony. Symbol of faithfulness Almost every detail can be interpreted as a symbol. The companion dog is seen as a symbol of faithfulness and love. The fruits on the window ledge probably stand for fertility and our fall from Paradise. Even the discarded shoes are not thought to be incidental, but to signify the sanctity of marriage.

The artist and the backs of the couple. All around the mirror are scenes from the life of Christ.

Symbolic candle The solitary flame burning in bright daylight can be interpreted as the bridall candle, or God's all-seeing eye, or simply as a devotional candle. Another symbol is St Margaret (the patron saint of women in childbirth), whose image is carved on the high chairback. An elaborate signature As today, marriages in 15th-century Flanders could take place privately rather than in church. Van Eyck's Latin signature, in the Gothic calligraphy used for legal documents, reads: ``Jan van Eyck was present'', and has been interpreted by some as an indication that the artist himself served as a witness.

HEIRONYMUS BOSCH (c August 1516) Hieronymus, or Jerome Bosch, spent his entire artistic career in the small Dutch town of Hertogenbosch, from which he derived his name. At the time of his death, Bosch was internationally celebrated as an eccentric painter of religious visions who dealt in particular with the torments of hell.

PIETER BREUGEL (c.1525 –1569) Nicknamed ‘Peasant Bruegel’ was probably the most significant and exciting painter in the Northern Europe during the middle part of the sixteenth century. His nickname “Peasant Bruegel” indicates his favorite subjects: peasant life, proverbs and genre scenes. He also set New Testament topics among common folks of contemporary Flanders.

Pieter Breugel (1528 – 1569) The Triumph of Death

Flemish Proverbs (1559)

In this tour de force of 92 visualizations of local proverbs, Brueghel shows, midpicture, Aesop’s fox duly bibbed and frustrated, waiting for soup sustenance from his “friend” the crane, who is happily sipping from a narrow earthenware vase. In the right lower corner “he who spills gruel cannot get it all up,” shows a hungry man with a big spoon trying to scoop up the spilt kettle of gruel from the ground back into the pot. Others included are: “He blocks up the well after the calf is drowned,” “One shears the sheep, another the pig,” “One holds the distaff, which the other spins,” “The pig has been stuck though the belly”;

Upper left

Lower Left

Upper right

Lower right

The Breugel Family Jan Brueghel the Elder ( ) Because of his fondness of certain subjects and glowing enamel paint, Jan, the second son of Pieter Breugel was given the nickname “Velvet” or “Flower” Brueghel. Jan Brueghel the Younger ( ) Pieter Brueghel the Younger ( ) called Hell Breugel for his facination with fires, goblins and the like.

Jan Breughel the Elder Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. 1615

Jan Brueghel the Elder. Bouquet in a Clay Vase. c

Jan Brueghel the Younger. Paradise. c. 1620

Pieter Breughel the Younger The Peasant Wedding

Jan Vermeer excelled in portraying comfortable interior scenes that are composed with mathematical clarity and suffused with cool, silvery light Vermeer was a master of composition and in the representation of space. He arranged tonal values and perspective over the foreground, into the middleground, and farther into the distance The Dutch Renaissance

Girl Asleep At a Table

Girl with a Pearl Earring