Art Northern Renaissance Medieval Art Artists depicted subjects
Art & Northern Renaissance Medieval Art • Artists depicted subjects in an unrealistic twodimensional style • Indicated the importance of the soul over the body. • Disproportionate • Flat/Dull • Religious themes
Renaissance Art • • Use of oil paints 3 -D and realism Lifelike Influenced by Greco. Roman culture • Depth, shadows • Bright colors (oil paints) • Emotion, • Religion, myth, everyday life
Leonardo da Vinci • Leonardo da Vinci was a: – – Painter Sculptor Inventor Scientist • A true “renaissance man”, he was interested in how things worked • He studied how a muscle moved and how the veins are arranged on a leaf • He filled notebooks with observations & new inventions • One of his best known paintings is the portrait of Mona Lisa • Leonardo also produced a famous religious painting, The Last Supper
Michelangelo • Like da Vinci, Michelangelo was a true renaissance man • He excelled at almost every area of study • He was a painter, sculptor, architect & poet • Michelangelo is most famous for the way he portrayed the human body • He explored the Renaissance theme of human potential (humanism) by creating figures with power & grandeur • Michelangelo designed the dome on St. Peter’s Basilica, working on it until his death in 1564 • His most famous sculpture is David, an 18 foot tall tribute to the biblical hero • He also painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome • Many of his panels combine Christian themes with Greek values
Raphael • Raphael was younger than Michelangelo & da Vinci • He learned from studying their works • One of Raphael’s favorite subjects was Madonna (Mary) & child (Jesus) • His greatest achievement was the School of Athens • It was painted on the walls of Pope Julius II’s library • It shows classical & Renaissance figures listening to Greek philosophers • Keep in mind Renaissance artists didn’t ignore religious themes • Many of the times, popes were artists biggest patrons • However, Renaissance artists incorporated realism & classical ideas when they did cover religious themes
Renaissance Spreads North • By the late 1400 s, Renaissance ideas spread to northern Europe-especially England, France, Flanders & Germany • Visitors to Italy were impressed by the ideas of Renaissance writers & artists • Merchants carried the ideas with them as they traveled • By 1450 the population of northern Europe, which had been shattered by Plague, was recovering • In addition, the destructive Hundred Years’ War between England & France ended in 1453 • Many cities grew rapidly--Merchants & kings/queens sponsored the arts • Northern Europe had monarchies, not city-states • When a French king took over the throne in Naples (S. Italy) he launched an attack on N. Italy • Many artists moved to other countries in Europe
Northern Renaissance Uniqueness • As Renaissance ideas spread out of Italy, they mingled with northern traditions • As a result, the Northern Renaissance developed its own character • Many of the humanists there were more concerned with religious ideals, than secular themes popular in Italy • The Renaissance ideal of human dignity inspired some northern humanists • They developed plans for social reform (change) based on Christian values
Albrecht Duerer • Albrecht Duerer was without doubt the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance. • Found inspiration in the work of painters of both major European artistic centers of his time. • Rather than simply imitating what others were doing, • Duerer was very much an innovator. • First artist who is known to have painted a self-portrait • And to have done a landscape painting of a specific scene.
Albrecht Duerer • The range and versatility of Duerer's work is astonishing. • His woodcuts and engravings made him famous • Still considered to be the greatest printmaker of all time. • As an oil painter, Duerer was equally successful at religious and secular subjects • Producing magnificent altarpieces and powerful portraits. • His drawings and watercolors are impressive for their diversity of subject-matter
Hans Holbein • Born in Augsburg, a rich merchant city with close trading relations with Italy • The knowledge which Durer strove for so passionately throughout his life… • came more naturally to Holbein. • Coming from a painter's family he absorbed the achievements of both the northern and the Italian artists. • He was hardly over thirty when he painted the wonderful painting of the Virgin with the family of the burgomaster of Basle as donors.
Hans Holbein • Holbein had careful attention to detail and a certain indifference to conventional beauty • These were characteristics that show Holbein had learned his trade in the North. • He was on his way to becoming the leading master of the German-speaking countries • However the turmoil of the Reformation put an end to all such hopes.
Jan van Eyck • Jan van Eyck was the greatest artist of the early Netherlands school. • Held high positions in his career, including court painter and diplomat. • So outstanding was his skill as an oil painter that its invention is often attributed to him. • Exploited the qualities of oil, building up layers of transparent glazes • Thus giving him a surface on which to capture objects in the minutest detail and allowing for the preservation of his colors.
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