Chapter 13: Artistic Innovations in 15th Century Northern Europe

Map of Renaissance Europe, 15th century.

Northern Europe: The Netherlands

People:• Region known as the

Southern Netherlands (Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, and Tournai)

• Cities are center of great international trade and commerce

• Guild system very powerful

15th Century map of The Netherlands

Flanders

Jan Van Eyck, The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait or Giovanni Arnolfini and His

Bride, 1434. Oil on panel, 33” x 22 ½.” National Gallery, London. Fig. 13.6

Example: • Secular portrait communicated

religious values • Merchant home• Disguised symbolism• Description of surfaces• Reflections of light• Artist’s signature and reflection

in mirror• Debate regarding scene

FlandersExample:• Ornate brass

chandelier shows attention to detail

• Single lit candle=signals presence of God

Jan Van Eyck, chandelier detail from The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait or Giovanni

Arnolfini and His Bride, 1434. Oil on panel, 33” x 22 ½.” National Gallery, London.

FlandersExample:• Mirror contains

scenes from the Passion of Christ in roundels (no bigger than a thumbnail)

• Reflections in mirror debated

Jan Van Eyck, mirror detail from The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait or Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride, 1434. Oil on panel,

33” x 22 ½.” National Gallery, London.

FlandersExample:• Shoes being off symbolized

a sacred event in Renaissance

Jan Van Eyck, shoes detail from The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait or Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride, 1434. Oil on panel, 33” x 22 ½.” National Gallery, London.

Flanders

Jan Van Eyck, artist’s signature detail from The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait or

Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride, 1434. Oil on panel, 33” x 22 ½.”

National Gallery, London.

Example:• Detail artist’s

signature with phrase “Johannes van Eyck fuit hic,” or “Jan van Eyck was here, 1434”– Signals presence as

well as confidence as artist

Flanders

Jan Van Eyck, The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait or Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride, 1434. Oil on panel, 33” x 22 ½.” National Gallery, London. Fig. 13.6

Example: • Wealth of the couple is shown

• They could afford painting• Fur (ermine) on hats and

garments, detailing• Fruit on windowsill (oranges)

• Possible import of family business

• Expensive carpeting• Lace head-piece• Expensive furnishings

Flanders

Rogier van der Weyden, The Deposition, c. 1435. Oil on panel, 7’ 2 5/8” x 8’ 7 1/8.” Museo del Prado, Madrid. Fig. 13-7.

FlandersExample:

• Trains under Campin• Deposition scene

– Dynamic composition with action and drama fit into a box, shallow space

• Cohesive composition through movement

• Commission for guild• Emotional expression• Descriptive naturalism

Rogier van der Weyden, Descent from the Cross or The Deposition, c. 1435.

Oil on panel, 7’ 2 5/8” x 8’ 7 1/8.” Museo del Prado, Madrid. Fig. 13-7.

Rogier van der Weyde (1399/1400-1464)

Ghent

Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Altarpiece, (as displayed) 1470s; oil on wood, 8’ 3 ½” x 10.’ Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Fig. 13.8.

Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Altarpiece, (central panel open) 1470s; oil on wood, 8’ 3 ½” x 10.’ Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Fig. 13.8.

Ghent

Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Altarpiece (open with donor wings), 1470s. Oil on wood, 8’ 3 ½” x 10.’ Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Fig. 13.8

Ghent

Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Altarpiece (open with donor wings), 1470s. Oil on wood, 8’ 3 ½” x 10.’ Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.

Ghent

Donor Tommaso Portinari, wife Maria

Madddelena, and children

Patron saints: Thomas, Anthony, Margaret, and

Mary Magdalene

Ghent

Example: Hugo van der Goes (c.1440-1482)• Commissioned 1474 by

Medici employee• Marker of social status• Subject is adoration of

Christ child• Landscape suggests

Flanders • Use of atmospheric

perspective

Hugo van der Goes, detail Portinari Altarpiece, 1470s; oil on wood, 8’ 3

½” x 10.’ Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Fig. 13.8.

Ghent

Example: • Use of symbolism • The lily was a symbol of Mary and her

purity. • The stalk represented her religious mind,

the leaves her humility, and the flower her mercy.

• The lily, it was believed in the Middle Ages, had first grown from tears that Eve shed as she fled the Garden of Eden. There are two lilies here on one stalk, with the number two signifying Christ's dual human and godly nature.

Hugo van der Goes, detail Portinari Altarpiece, 1470s; oil on wood, 8’ 3 ½” x 10.’ Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.

GhentExample: • the three irises in the vase are white and blue for

purity and heavenliness and three perhaps for the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. The iris was itself a symbol of light and hope, but its leaves, seven in number here, signify the seven sorrows of Mary:– The Prophecy of Simeon over the Infant Jesus. (Gospel

of Luke 2:34)– The Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family. (Gospel of

Matthew 2:13)– The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days. (Luke 2:43)– The Meeting of Jesus and Mary along the Way of the

Cross. (Luke 23:26)– The Burial of Jesus. (John 19:40)– The Crucifixion, where Mary stands at the foot of the cross. (Gospel of John 19:25)– The Descent from the Cross, where Mary receives the dead body of Jesus in her arms.

(Matthew 27:57)

Hugo van der Goes, detail Portinari

Altarpiece, 1470s; oil on wood, 8’ 3 ½” x 10.’ Galleria degli Uffizi,

Florence, Italy.

Ghent

Example: • The columbine in the clear glass, with the light

shining through in the left of the glass, symbolizes the Holy Spirit, or the Divine Spouse.

• The three carnations peeking out over the rim of the glass symbolize love, and their number symbolizes the Trinity. It was believed that the carnation first grew from the tears of Mary for Christ.

• The violets symbolize faithfulness, humility, and chastity.

Hugo van der Goes, detail Portinari Altarpiece, 1470s; oil on wood, 8’ 3 ½” x 10.’ Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.

GhentExample: • The wheat chaff and the liturgical garb

of some of the angels point to the Eucharist

• The Passion is the invisible theme of the painting, as shown in the solemn visage of Mary, who foresaw Christ's Passion from the beginning, and the pious stance of Saint Joseph and the angels, as if in preparing to receive Holy Communion.

• The empty shoe before Joseph is a reminder of God's words to Moses on Mount Sinai before the burning bush: “Put off your shoes from your feet, for the place you are standing is holy ground."

Hugo van der Goes, detail Portinari Altarpiece, 1470s; oil on wood, 8’ 3 ½” x 10.’ Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.

Ghent

Example: • The shepherds provide a stark

contrast in the tranquility of the scene– Their arrival seems disorderedly,

loud compared to all others• The artist paints them in detail

true to vocation

Hugo van der Goes, detail Portinari Altarpiece, 1470s; oil on wood, 8’ 3

½” x 10.’ Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.

's-Hertogenbosch

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, c. 1480-1515. Oil on panel, center panel 7’ 2 ½” x 6’ 4 ½,” wings each 7’ 2 ½” x 3’ 2.” Museo del

Prado. Fig. 13.9.

's-HertogenboschExample: Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516)• Possible moral illustrations or titilation• God introducing Adam to Eve in

Paradise• Exotic animals abound, some real

and some hybrid

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, left panel c. 1480-1515. Oil on panel, center panel 7’ 2 ½” x 6’

4 ½,” wings each 7’ 2 ½” x 3’ 2.” Museo del Prado.

's-HertogenboschExample: • Unconventional and

untranslatable imagery of world of human folly

• Atmospheric perspective used to create depth

• Extreme detail• Fantastical creatures

throughout• All forms of human

debaucheryHieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, central panel c. 1480-1515. Oil on panel, center panel 7’ 2 ½” x 6’ 4 ½,” wings each 7’ 2 ½” x 3’ 2.” Museo del

Prado.

's-HertogenboschExample: • Often interpreted to be hell• Tiny creatures torment human• Possible interpretation as days of Noah

symbolized by flood imagery• Possible allegory of redemption using

alechemy– Adam and Eve= Conjunction (mixing)– Child’s play=allowing ingredients to

ferment– Burning and cleansing= left wing (inferno

and flood)

Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, right panel c. 1480-1515. Oil on panel, center panel 7’ 2 ½” x 6’

4 ½,” wings each 7’ 2 ½” x 3’ 2.” Museo del Prado.

France

Jean Fouquet, Madonna and Child from the Melun Diptych, c. 1450. Oil on panel, right panel 36 5/8” x 33 ½.” Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts, Antwerp,

Belgium. Fig. 13.11

France

Jean Fouquet, Madonna and Child from the Melun Diptych, c. 1450. Oil on panel, right panel 36 5/8” x 33 ½.” Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts, Antwerp,

Belgium. Fig. 13.11

Example: • French artists learn from

Flemish artists and introduce own brand of naturalism

• French are limited by cost of Hundred Years’ War when commissioning art

France

Jean Fouquet, Madonna and Child from the Melun Diptych, c. 1450. Oil on panel, right panel 36 5/8” x 33 ½.” Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts, Antwerp,

Belgium. Fig. 13.11

Example: Jean Fouquet (1420-1481)• Court painter• Book illuminator and panel

painter

France

Jean Fouquet, Étienne Chevalier and St. Stephen from the Melun Diptych, c. 1450. Oil on panel, left panel 36 ½” x 33 ½.” Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts,

Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Fig. 13.11

Example: • Depicted is the court

treasurer with patron Saint Stephen close to Virgin and Child– Stephen shone with

stone of martyrdom• Antique elements

decorate interior space

France

Jean Fouquet, Madonna and Child from the Melun Diptych, c. 1450. Oil on panel, right panel 36 5/8” x 33 ½.” Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts, Antwerp,

Belgium. Fig. 13.11

Example: • Madonna symbolizes courtly

beauty and duties of a mother • Madonna is portrait of King’s

mistress Agnès Sorel• Contrast of the earthly and

divine realms• Little interest in texture and/or

detail (perhaps Italian influence)

• Rational order not emotion rules

Jean Fouquet, Madonna and Child from the Melun Diptych, c. 1450. Oil on panel, right panel 36 5/8” x 33 ½.” Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts, Antwerp, Belgium. Fig. 13.11

Life, May 21, 2012.

Tyrol

Example: Michael Pacher (c.1435-1498)• Artist is both painter and sculptor• Contract specifications• Gothic inspiration• Center panel=Coronation of the Virgin

– Flanked by patron saints of monastery – Outer scenes contrast in style

• Use of Renaissance perspective=Italian influence

Michael Pacher, St. Wolfgang Altarpiece, (in situ) 1471-1481. Carved wood, polychrome pine, linden, gilding, and oil (sculpture and painting), over 40 feet high and more than

20 feet wide, Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang, Austria. Fig. 13.12

Michael Pacher, St. Wolfgang Altarpiece, (detail) 1471-1481. Carved wood, polychrome pine, linden, gilding, and oil (sculpture and painting), over 40

feet high and more than 20 feet wide, Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang, Austria.

Tyrol

Michael Pacher, detail Coronation of the Virgin Mary from St. Wolfgang Altarpiece, 1471-1481. Carved wood, polychrome pine, linden, gilding, and oil (sculpture and painting), over 40 feet high and more than 20

feet wide, Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang, Austria.

Holy Roman EmpireExample: • Printmaking develops in 15th

century Europe• Johann Gutenberg (c. 1397-

1468) invents movable print in 1456– From contact with Middle East

• New media allows for “quick” productions and more public medium

• Spawns new industry of book making

Martin Schongauer, Saint Anthony Tormented by Demon, 1480-1490.

Engraving, 11 ½” x 8 5/8.” Metropolitan Museum of Art,

NY. Fig. 13.14

Holy Roman EmpireExample: Martin Schongauer (c. 1435/50 -1491)• Print, engraving • Cross-hatches for shading • Surface description of

textures• Printmaking responds to rise

in literacy and improved economy Martin Schongauer, Saint Anthony

Tormented by Demon, 1480-1490. Engraving, 11 ½” x 8 5/8.”

Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. Fig. 13.14

15th Century Graphic Arts

Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Battle of the Ten Nudes, 1465. Engraving, 1’ 3 1/8” x 1’ 11

¼.” British Museum, London.

Martin Schongauer, Saint Anthony Tormented by Demon, 1480-1490. Engraving, 11 ½” x 8 5/8.” Metropolitan Museum of

Art, NY.