1. THE RENAISSANCE Part II
Unit 1.2B
THE RENAISSANCE
Part II

2. V. The Northern Renaissance
A. Christian Humanism
1. Focused on early church writings that provided answers on how to improve society and reform the church.
2. Emphasized education and power of human intellect to bring about institutional change and moral improvement
3. Criticism of the church led to the Reformation

3. B. Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536):
1. Most famous of all northern humanists
2. In Praise of Folly (1509)
a. Best-seller; written in Latin
b. Sought to reform the church, not destroy it
c. Criticized immorality and hypocrisy of church leaders and
the clergy
d. Inspired renewed calls for reform and influenced Martin Luther
-- “Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched”

4. Portrait of Erasmus, Massys,1517 Oil on panel
Portrait of Erasmus, Hans Holbein,1523

5. Thomas More, Hans Holbein, 1527
C. Thomas More ( ) 1. Civic humanist; rose to highest gov’t position of any humanist -- Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII 2. Utopia (1516) a. Mix of civic humanism and religious idealism in describing a perfect society b. People should sacrifice their individual rights for the common good
Frick Collection public domain
Thomas More, Hans Holbein, 1527

6. D. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
1. Greatest of the English Renaissance authors
2. His works reflect the Renaissance ideas of classical Greek and Roman culture, individualism, and humanism
3. Wrote comedies, tragedies, histories and sonnets
National Portrait Gallery public domain

7. VI. Northern Renaissance Art A. Flemish style (Low countries)
1. Characteristics
a. Heavily influenced by the Italian Renaissance
b. Use of oil paints (compared to tempera in Italy)
c. More emotion than Italian style
d. Works often preoccupied with death

8. 2. Jan Van Eyck ( )
a. Most famous and innovative Flemish painter of the 15th century
b. Perfected oil painting
c. Employed incredible detail
d. His masterpiece is the Ghent Altarpiece (1432)
e. Arnolfini and his Wife (1434) is his most famous work
National Gallery, London Wikipedia Commons
Self-Portrait, 1433

9. Jan Van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece, open view, 1432
Wikipedia Commons
Jan Van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece, open view, 1432

10. Jan Van Eyck: Arnolfini Portrait (Wedding), 1434
National Gallery, London public domain
Detail of the mirror in the painting.

11. a. Foremost northern Renaissance artist b. Master of the woodcut
B. Germany
1. Albrecht Dürer ( )
a. Foremost northern Renaissance artist
b. Master of the woodcut
c. First northern artist to master Italian Renaissance techniques of proportion, perspective, and modeling
d. Notable works include Adam and Eve; Knight, Death, and the Devil; and Four Apostles

12. Albrecht Dürer Adam and Eve, 1504, woodcut
PUBLIC DOMAIN

13. The Knight, Death and Devil,
Albrecht Durer:
The Knight, Death and Devil,
1514,
woodcut
PUBLIC DOMAIN

14. Important female rulers
1. Caterina Sforza in Milan
2. Isabella I of Spain: unified Spain along with her husband, Ferdinand I
3. Mary Tudor: ruled England ( )
4. Elizabeth I: ruled England ( )
5. Catherine de Medici: ruled France as regent from 1559 to 1589

15. D. Joan Kelly (historian): Did Women have a Renaissance?
1. Asserts middle class women especially suffered a marked decline in their status along with that of noble women during the Italian Renaissance
2. Middle class women were exclusively relegated to the private sphere while men monopolized political and economic issues in the public sphere.
3. Sexual chastity was essential for both women of the nobility and the bourgeoisie; a double- standard existed as chastity was not expected of men

16. 4. Medieval feudalism permitted homage to
4. Medieval feudalism permitted homage to female vassals but in Renaissance Italy feudalism was replaced by powerful city-states. Thus, the political power of women in many cases vanished.
Noble women thus experienced a state of almost universal dependence on her family and husband
5. Non-military education by tutors for young noblemen (and women) had often been done by females in the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance female tutors were replaced with male humanistic tutors or boarding schools (that emphasized patriarchal and misogynous bias), thus reducing female tutors.