Northern Renaissance Art

About This Course

The Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries in Northern Europe

The late-fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in the centers of power, commerce, and patronage in Europe saw developments which in some cases took their cue from the pioneering advancements in art in Italy and in other instances developed along trajectories which were entirely their own. In Flanders and Burgundy in the fifteenth century and in parts of France, Holland, England, and the Holy Roman Empire in the sixteenth, painting assumed radical new appearances which distinguished the Northern Renaissance. he French Gothic style which had formerly set the tone for the most prestigious commissioned artworks of the prior age had been stalled by the disastrous and costly Hundred Years’ War in which France and England had become embroiled; taking over this power vacuum formerly spearheaded by the French monarchy were smaller duchies and territories administered by nobles with less direct involvement in the war and consequently more resources which could be funneled into the production of new artwork which reflected the cutting-edge developments of the day south of the Alps. Also on the European stage was the growing network of what we would today class the trans-national corporate interests of Europe’s new capitalistic economy and the growing importance of banking and trading families. The Medici in Florence were the most prominent and successful upon this new economic landscape, with branches and representatives at every major court and trading center in Europe which would have a profound effect on the transmission of new forms and approaches in art. As the centuries progressed, Flemish painting even came to directly influence the course of Art History in Florence. This Northern taste and recognizable style is explored in this course through such broad contributions as the new medium of oil painting as well as the rise of the portrait, the landscape, the still life, and the genre scene in painting.

• Students will learn the key developments, vocabulary terms, and works of art which are associated with Renaissance painting in Northern Europe.

• Students will be able to recognize major Northern Renaissance paintings and their artists.

• Students will gain an appreciation of the themes that defined the Northern Renaissance from its Italian counterpart.