the renaissance in the north. northern europe in the 16th century synthesis of new ideas from italy...

The Renaissance in the North

Northern Europe in the 16th Century

Synthesis of new ideas from Italy– Alternatives to traditional religious doctrine– Enthusiasm for classical antiquity– Emphasis on individualism

Culture and Politics– Francis I, The Hapsburgs, The Tudors– Scientific, religious movements

Benvenuto Cellini. The Saltcellar of Francis I, 1539-1543. Gold. Kunsthistorisches Musseum, Vienna. The Male figure is Sea; the female is Land. The sculptor had fled to the French court after the sack of Rome in 1527.

Leone Leoni. Bust of Emperor Charles V, 1533-1555. Bronze. Height. Height 44”. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. The sculpture deliberately portrayed the German ruler as a Roman emperor, thus associating Charles with both Italy and Classical antiquity. Note the eagle at the base, symbol of imperial rule since Roman times.

Causes of the Reformation

Economic and nationalistic self-interests– Unfair political and economic papal demands

Maturation of humanist ideals– Desire for more personal, interior piety

Moral and intellectual depravity of some clergy– Wealth of monastic and episcopal lords

Renaissance Humanism and the Reformation:

Humanists and Reformers

SimilaritiesPublic religious

aversionsFavored early

Christian writers over medieval scholastics

Mastery of Biblical languages

Differences

Nature of humanity– Education vs. Grace

Universal truth found through rational exploration of religious texts vs. Scriptura sola

Cultural Significance of the Reformation

Spread of literacy “Printing Press”– Diffusion of literature– Proliferation of vernacular texts

Focus on the Word “Only the scriptures”– Aural vs. visual– Hymns– Deeper personal spirituality– Simplistic decoration– Secular art

The Visual Arts in Northern Europe

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)

Italian, humanist influences– Linear perspective– Perception of the artist (Self-Portrait, 1500)– Classical ideals of beauty, proportion– Quest for knowledge, scientific precision

Woodcuts, engraving Painting (Venetian influences)

Albrecht Durer. Self Portrait, 1500. Panel. Alte Pinakothek, Munich. The frontal pose and solemn gaze convey Durer’s belief in the seriousness of his calling. -Durer adopted Renaissance humanism’s concept of the artist as an inspired genius, creating a unique personal world. -In other paintings Durer shows complex line drawing rather the color and brightness. Most of his greatest works appear as woodcuts or engravings. -Use of printing press and and an emphasis on prioritizing religious work.

The Visual Arts in Northern Europe

Matthias Grünewald (c. 1470-1528)

Rejected Renaissance innovations– Traditional religious themes– Isenheim Altarpiece, Crucifixion (1515)

Political, religious sympathies

Tortured images

Lack of perspective, proportion

Matthias Grunewald. Crucifixion.1515 Panel. Musee’ d’Unterlinden, Colmar.Mary Magdalene, Mary and Apostle John. John the Baptist points to Christ’s sacrifice. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

The Visual Arts in Northern Europe

Albrecht Altdorfer (1480-1538)

Personal worldview through landscape– Danube Landscape (1522-1525)– No human figures

Contemplation on beauties of nature– Sympathy with natural forces– Light, scale, vitality

Painting in the Netherlands

Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516)

Pessimistic view of human nature– Human folly– Inevitable punishment for sin

Garden of Earthly Delights (1505-1510)– Pleasures of the body lead to damnation– Private and complex symbolism

Hieronymus Bosch. Garden of Earthly Delights, 1505-1510. Panel. Prado, Madrid. Triptych (a three-paneled painting) known as the Garden of Earthly Delights. There are hundreds of nude figures engaged in the pursuit of erotic pleasure. The painting reads left to right a story of innocents, pleasure and consequence.

The right panel (consequence panel) symbolizes Bosch’s hell. A lute and harp, symbols of heavenly music, are used as instruments of torture, while a gambler is pinned to his table. The fires of Hell rage in the background.

Painting in the Netherlands

Pieter Bruegel, the Elder (1525-1569)

Futility of human existence– Pervasiveness of sin

Order, purpose in natural cycles– Triumph of Death (1562-1564)– Hunters in the Snow (1565)

Scenes from peasant life

Art and Architecture in France

Jean Clouet (c. 1485-1541)– Francis I (c. 1525-153)

French Gothic + Italian Renaissance– Château de Chambord

Emphasis on decoration– Square Court of the Louvre

Chateau de Chambord, France, 1519. The turrets and pinnacles are French medieval architecture

Art in Elizabethan England

16th-century stability, prosperity

Relations with Netherlands, Spain

Nationalism– Hans Holbein, the Younger (1497/8-1543)– Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619)

Hans Holbein the Younger. Henry VIII in Wedding Dress, 1540. This wedding, when he was in his 49th year, was probably the ill-fated one to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.

-Henry VIII reigned from 1509-1547. -Broke from Roman Church in 1534 because the pope refused to grant him an annulment from his first wife, Katherine of Aragon.

-Tried and killed English Catholics for political treason and Protestants for religious heresy.

Hans Holbein the Younger. Anne of Cleves, 1539-1540. Vellum applied to canvas.

After viewing this portrait, Henry VIII sent for Anne of Cleves and made her his fourth queen. Note the formal pose and suitably modest gaze.

-This painting inspired Henry VIII to marry this princess, but divorced her six months later.

Nicholas Hilliard. Ermine Portrait of Queen Elizabeth. I, 1585. Oil on canvas. Hatfield House, England.

-The ermine on the queen’s sleeve is a symbol of virginity. The portrait as a whole is a symbol of her majesty.

Music of the Northern Renaissance

Complexity of style, polyphony

Instrumental accompaniments

Lyrical narratives

German and Flemish songs– Romantic, military, political– Isaac

Music of the Northern Renaissance:Elizabethan MusicEnglish Litany (1544)

– Simplified Gregorian Chant– The Boke of Common Praier Noted (1549)

William Byrd (c. 1543-1623)– Protestant compositions, Catholic masses– Virginal instrumentation, madrigals

English Literature

Humanism in England– Caxton’s printing press– Increased literacy

Classical models– Thomas More (1478-1535)– Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)– Edmund Spencer (1552-1599)

English LiteratureEnglish Drama

– Increasing prosperity and leisure– Traveling actors, noble patrons– Permanent theater buildings

Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)– Humanity defeated by destiny

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)– Classical models, complicated plots– Psychological motivation, problems of human

existence