1. NORTHERN EUROPE, 1400-1500 GARDNER CHAPTER 20-3 PP. 532-538

2. FRANCE – MANUSCRIPT PAINTING  In the 15 th century French painters built on the achievements of the Gothic painters -> produced exquisitely refined ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS  New conception and presentation of space  More pronounced characteristics as illusionistic scenes  Increased contact with Italy = pictorial principles of classical antiquity = French interest in illusionism  15 th century Flanders = peace and prosperity  15 th century France = the Hundred Years’ War -> crippled economy and political instability

3. LIMBOURG BROTHERS  Limbourg Brothers, January, from Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 1413- 1416, ink on vellum  International Gothic Style  Full page illustrations contain the months of the year for a BOOK OF HOURS = a book used for reciting of daily prayers from matins to compline  The calendar pages from THE VERY RICH HOURS OF THE DUKE OF BERRY are perhaps the most famous in the history of manuscript painting  Represent the twelve months in terms of associated seasonal tasks -> alternating scenes of nobility and peasantry

4. LES TRES RICHES HEURES DU DUC DE BERRY  Limbourg Brothers, October, from Tres Heures du Duc de Berry  Above each picture is a LUNETTE depicting the Apollo riding a chariot bringing up the sun along with associated zodiac signs  Functions as a religious book and captures the power of the duke and his relationship to the peasants  Naturalism of details; meticulously rendered castles; cast shadows

5. JEAN FOUQUET  Jean Fouquet, Melun Diptych, Etienne Chevalier and Saint Stephen (left wing), Virgin and Child (right wing), 1450-1451, oil on wood  Diptych painted for Etienne Chevalier, treasurer of Charles VII  Chevalier depicted with his patron saint -> devout, pious patron kneeling w/hands clasped in prayer  Saint Stephen shown w/rock of his martyrdom atop bible  ¾ stance and sharp, clear focus  Secular on the left and sacred on the right  Model for the Virgin was Agnes Sorel, King Charles VII’s mistress

7. HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE - SCULPTURE  The Holy Roman Empire = Germany = was not involved in the Hundred Years’ War -> econ remained stable and prosperous  Did not have a dominant court culture to commission artworks  Patronage came from wealthy merchants and clergy  Art of the early “Northern Renaissance” displays pronounced stylistic diversity  Some followed developments in Flemish painting  Many artists display the power of the lingering Late Gothic style

8. VEIT STOSS  Veit Stoss, Death and Assumption of the Virgin (wings open), altar of the Virgin Mary, Krakow, Poland, 1477-1489. painted and gilded wood, almost 24’  Altarpiece for the church of Saint Mary in Krakow -> figures in central panel are 9 feet high  On the wings -> scenes from the lives of Christ and Mary  Intense piety of the Late Gothic period -> designed to heighten emotion and glorify the sacred event

9. TILMAN RIEMENSCHNEIDER  Tilman Riemenschneider, The Assumption of the Virgin, center panel of the Creglingen altarpiece, Germany, ca, 1495-1499, lindenwood, 6’ wide  Tilman Riemenschneider specialized in carving large wooden retables -> his works feature intricate Gothic tracery and religious figures who almost lost within their swirling garments  RETABLE = another name for an altarpiece

10. KONRAD WITZ  Konrad Witz, Miraculous Draught of Fish, from the Altarpiece of Saint Peter, Cathedral of Saint Peter, Geneva, Switzerland, 1444, oil on wood  One of the most notable 15 th century German altarpieces  Exterior wing of a triptych -> Peter, the first pope, trying to emulate Christ and walk on water  Significant because of the prominence of the landscape -> study of water effects -> sky glaze on the lake surface; mirrored reflections of the figures in the boat; transparency of the shallow water in the foreground

11. GRAPHIC ARTS – MICHEL WOLGEMUT  Revolution in written communication w/the 1450 invention by Johannes Gutenberg of movable type and the printing press  Using a gouging instrument wood blocks are a carved with raised letters -> ridges are inked and hollows remain dry of ink and do not print  Michel Wolgemut, Tarvisium, page from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493, woodcut  Early example of woodcut illustrations in printed books -> more than 650 pictures include detailed views of towns, but they are generic rather than specific portrayals

12. WOODCUTS, ENGRAVINGS, AND ETCHINGS  PRINT = artwork on paper  EDITION = the set of prints created from a single print surface  Printmaking involves the transfer of ink from the printing surface to the paper  Relief prints -> produced by carving into a surface, usually wood -> subtractive process  Intaglio process = artist draws the image onto the plate  The paper and ink the artists use affect the finished look of the printed image  15 th and 16 th century -> development of paper from cotton and linen rags  Prints can produce multiple copies -> prints can be sold at cheaper prices

13. MARTIN SCHONGAUER  Martin Schongauer, Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons, ca. 1480- 1490  Metal engraving produces an intaglio (incised) surface for printing  Marvelous variety of tonal values and textures