Chapter 13.2: The Northern

Renaissance

Ch.13.2 Essential Questions:

• What were the origins and characteristics of the

Northern Renaissance?

• What was the impact of the Renaissance on

German and Flemish painters?

• Who were some of the key Northern

Renaissance writers?

• What were the origins of the Elizabethan Age?

• How did printing and publishing affect social

reforms?

Where are we talking about?

• Northern Europe;

specifically-

– England

– France

– Germany

– Flanders (present day

Netherlands and part

of northern France)

When are we talking about?

• By about the mid to

late 1400s, the

Renaissance had

begun to spread from

Italy northward.

• There are several

reasons for this.

Why did it spread?

• Travelling artists brought

their ideas and innovations

with them.

• Wars between France and

Italy, though destructive,

allowed northern Europeans

to view the explosion of

creativity going on in Italy

• The invention of the

printing press quickened

the spread of ideas

Why did it spread? (continued)

• Population grew quickly

now that the bubonic

plague had passed (for

the most part!)

• The Hundred Years War

ended in 1453; as a

result, cities grow rapidly

• No war means more

money is available for

other goods and luxuries

(like artwork)

The tone of the Northern Renaissance, however, is different from what was seen in Italy.

While wealthy merchants and rich, independent city-states led the way in Italy, this was not the case in the north.

• Due in part to the plague and the Hundred Years War, northern Europe had strong centralized power structures in the form of monarchies. They didn’t have uppity city-states.

• Thus, it was mainly the kings and some nobles who were responsible for the Renaissance’s spread there,

• It’s also more religious there.

Art

Art followed the Italian techniques and used a lot of perspective and realism.

• German Artists:

• Albrecht Durer- known for woodcuts; engravings; religious subjects and classical myths

• Hans Holbein the Younger- portrait painter in photographic detail (patrons included Henry VIII)

Flemish Artists:

• Jan van Eyck- used oil paints/main layers, a technique still used today; use of realistic detail

• Pieter Breugel the Elder- known for realistic detail and portrayal of the individual even in large crowds; painted everyday scenes of life.

• Albrecht Durer- Self Portrait

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

• Hans Holbein (the Younger)The Ambassadors

Look at

the detail:

Sir Thomas More

• Jan van Eyck

The Ghent Altarpiece- A tryptic (3 panels)

The Arnolfini Wedding

Pieter Breugel the ElderPeasant Wedding

Tower of Babel

Fall of Icarus

Census at Bethlehem

Compare and Contrast

Flemish and German Painters

Venn-diagram Activity

Literature

• Writing also goes humanist, but, like with the rest, with a Christian bent, giving rise to Christian Humanism.

• Human freedom and individualism are compatible with Christianity.

• Human existence isn’t valued merely in itself.

• The main idea was to reform society

• Education was important- schools for boys and girls were founded

Christian Humanists

• -Erasmus (the “Father

of Humanism”); wrote

The Praise of Folly-

pokes fun at corrupt

priests and greedy

merchants.

Christian Humanists

• Thomas More, author

of Utopia- tried to

portray a model

society, free of greed

and vice

Women’s Reforms

• Christine de Pizan

called for women to

be educated. Spoke

out against different

treatment for boys

and girls

The Elizabethan Age

mid-1500s England• Named after the reign

of Queen Elizabeth I

(1558-1603)

• Patron who did much

to support English art

and literature

William Shakespeare

• Greatest playwright of all

time

• Revered the classics and

used them in his plots

(ex: Julius Caesar)

• Cleverly revealed human

nature in scenes of

dramatic conflict by

exposing the human flaw

• Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo

and Juliet

Gutenberg and the printing press

• The printing press is one of the greatest inventions in history.

• Invented by Johann Gutenberg in 1440

• Previously, literary works had to be transcribed by hand, usually by monks.

• It was tedious, time-consuming work and made books very expensive.

• The printing press allowed works to be cheaply mass-produced. Suddenly the written word could be accessible to the masses.

Legacy of the Renaissance

1.Changes in the Arts

• Imitated art techniques/styles from classical

Greece and Rome

• Painting/sculptures become more realistic/lifelike

• Artists incorporate both religious and secular

subjects into their work

• Writers write in the vernacular

• Arts once again praised individual achievement

Legacy of the Renaissance,

continued2. Changes in Society

• Impact of the printing press similar to modern

day impact of the internet and world-wide web

• Published works of new discoveries, maps and

charts led to further discoveries in a variety of

fields

• Published laws and court records made the

people much more aware of their rights

• Christian humanists attempted reforms in society

• People began to QUESTION political structures

and religious practices

Which of these events do you

believe were the most

important? Why?

List your top 10 events with your

rationale.

10 being the least important and 1

being the most important