16th Century

Art (Late
Renaissance)
in Northern
Europe and
the Iberian
Peninsula
(aka: NOT Italy)
1500-1600
 What’s up with 16th century in Northern
Europe and the Iberian Peninsula?
• The Reformation brings on iconoclasm, lots of great
artwork is thus destroyed, new work is prohibited from
being made
• However, the 16th century is still pretty darn creative and
dynamic
• Artists figure out how to represent figures without
appearing to create pagan idols
• Northern European artists very inspired by Italian
Renaissance, but created their own traditions
• Albrecht Durer – combines Northern Renaissance realism
and interest in detail with Italian concern for size and
monumentality
 A little history…
• Reformation began in 1517 when Martin Luther
(monk and scholar) caused a split in the Christian
faith – created political turmoil that lasted for
centuries (He had a lot of complaints about the
church in Germany)

• Countries with a short Christian history (Germany,

Scandinavia, and the Netherlands) became
Protestant
• Countries with a long Christian history (Spain, Italy,
Portugal, and Poland) remain Catholic
• Protestants spread anti-Catholic feelings
around – starts iconoclastic movement –
attack paintings and sculptures of holy
figures (they were considered sacred just
a second ago, what the heck?!)
• Calvinists were leaders of the
iconoclastic movement. They were
horrified by the “blasphemous and
idolatrous” images of the Christians
 Artists and Patrons are conflicted…
• Artists caught in the middle of the iconoclasm argument –
the Church was a great employer, but what if the Protestants
are right?
• Artists try to avoid the issue by doing other types of
painting, like portraits. They play down religious themes.
• Protestants thought they could reach God through their own
human intercession, so paintings of Jesus (when allowed)
were direct and forceful
• Catholics liked saints, Mary, priests, etc. to act as “in
betweens” between themselves and God (so images of holy
people were more accepted) – But idolatry was not allowed
by either Catholics or Protestants
 and a word about trade…
• Northern European economy was
flourishing – constant flow of trade
across the Atlantic
• With trade came the buying/selling of art
• Printmaking and other new technologies
make artists popular internationally
(prints travel well and are relatively
cheap!)
 Let’s look at architecture!
• Gothic style was appreciated at first, but then
became “old fashioned”. However, the
verticality of Gothic stuck around.
• Italian High Renaissance elements (columns,
pilasters, pediments, etc.) were used a lot.

Let’s see some examples…

 THE ESCORIAL, by: Juan de Herrera and
Juan Bautista del Toledo, 1563-1584, Madrid
Here’s a view of THE ESCORIAL
from a different angle
Another angle
•It’s a palace, monastery, royal mausoleum, and church. It’s everything!
•Dedicated to St. Lawrence (Philip II won the Battle of San Quintin on
his feast day.
•Ground plan is in the shape of a gridiron (St. Lawrence was tied to a
gridiron and burned to death)
Plan of THE ESCORIA (and poor St. Lawrence with his gridiron)
•Philip II’s personality is reflected in the design – severe,
restrained, massive, yet understanted
•Entrance flanked by engaged Doric columns, pediment up top
• Four towers dominate the corners
• Designed with the intent on showing that Spain is the center
of the Christian world
• Most of Spain’s kings (over the past 500 years) have been
buried here
THE LOUVRE, by: Pierre Lescot
1546, Paris, France
Your art history education is NOT complete until you go here. GO!!! It’s
one of the world’s largest museums and a historic monument! It has
about 35,000 art objects. It’s the most visited museum in the world!
It wasn’t always a museum! – built as a royal palace
for French kings (a blend of a French chateau and ann
Italian palazzo) –opened as a museum in 1793
It’s pretty at night
SMO CAM (I kid you not)
-Lots of horizontal emphasis (goodbye Gothic!)
-Roman style arcade on bottom floor
-Tympana over the projecting bays
• There’s the
arcade
• Pitched roof,
large window
spaces, double
columns (all
French
influences)
• Pediments and
pilasters (Italian
Renaissance
influence)
• Double columns surround a niche w/ sculpture
Check out its cool restoration workshop
There’s cool stuff here! Go!
 PAINTING and SCULPTURE TIME!
• We’ll see an Italian Renaissance influence, but the
Northern European artists put their own spin on it
(added minute details and painstaking realism)
• Michelangelo was really popular in Northern Europe
(even though he never went there!). Italian artists
went north to study there (and the spread the style)
• Northern European painters influenced by
Mannerism and High Renaissance trend of
massiveness and size
• Fondness for nature not seen in Italian art
(landscapes, animals, tiny people in vast outdoor
settings)
• High horizon lines allow artists to show as much
“earth” as possible
• Use atmospheric perspective, not a ton of linear
perspective
• After reformation, portraits and scenes of everyday
life are favored over religious themes (except for El
Greco, he was passionate about Mannerism and
religious stuff)
• The Reformation makes things tough for sculptors
(their work might be seen as pagan idols, oh no!) –
many sculptures destroyed by religious nuts
• Religious sculptures continue in Catholic countries,
like Italy, but not in Protestant Northern Europe
 Garden of Earthly Delights
by Hieronymus Bosch
1505-1510, oil on wood (go to Madrid’s Prado Museum to see it)
 When you
close it up, it
looks like this
(shows the
world during
Creation,
probably the
3rd day -no
animals or
people yet)
Center
Panel
LEFT

RIGHT
Contrast!
• Let’s start with the left side:
• Shows the Garden of Eden –
humans in an ideal world,
but…
• Some signs of evil to come
-animals being violent and
eating each other
-Adam and Eve look thin –
insubstantial nudes, no
backbone, act only on
impulses
•Center panel is
truly the Garden
of Earthly
Delights – the
result of Adam
and Eve’s sin
•Sexual play of
primitive
humans
•Eating sexually
suggestive fruits
and berries
•idleness
Nothing
suggestive
about this,
right?
•Sexually suggestive
towers and wading
pools
•Animals suggest
sexual perversity
•Water-bound globe is
a hybrid of stone and
organic matter,
adorned by nude
figures cavorting both
with each other and
with various
creatures, some of
whom are realistic,
others are fantastic or
hybrid
•The head of
one female is
adorned with
two cherries—
a symbol of
pride.
•A man drinks
lustfully from
an organic
vessel
•A man carries
a couple
encased in a
mussel shell
•Ordinary fruit is
gigantic
•Males and
females in couples
and in groups
doing all sorts of
amorous tings –
behaving without
shame – sexual
curiosity
•Self-absorbed
joy, life without
consequences (no
kids or old people)
Now let’s look at the right side:
•HELL! Souls are tormented by
demons and made to pay for
their sins
•THIS is what happens when
you do all the things the people
in the central panel are doing
•Musical instruments are used
for torture (music arouses
passions, look out!)
•High horizon line (in all
panels) allows Bosch to pack in
a lot of details
•The "Tree-Man”
•A pair of human
ears brandishing
a blade
•A cavity in the
torso with three
naked people at a
table, seated on
an animal, and a
fully clothed
woman pouring
drink from a
barrel.
•The city in the
background is
burning down.
The light from
the fire pours out
in beams
•People fleeing
•The figures are light
and minimally modeled
•They lack individuality
and minds of their own
•The hell scene is set at
night, no natural beauty
•Cruel torture and
retribution
•War, torture, demons,
mutated animals
feeding on human flesh
•Nakedness of human
figures, try to cover
themselves
A man is
approached by
a pig wearing
the veil of a
nun. The pig
is shown
trying to
seduce the
man to sign
legal
documents –
symbolizes
penalty for
lustful
thoughts
•All symbolizes stages of alchemy:
•LEFT: opposite elements brought together
•CENTER: mixing of elements
•RIGHT: purification process by fire
 ISENHEIM ALTARPIECE
by Matthias Grunewald, 1510-1515, oil on panel
•Originally in a hospital where people were treated for “St.
Anthony’s Fire” (ergotism) – disease caused by eating a
fungus that grows on rye flour – causes convulsions and
gangrene, yikes
It’s in a museum in France
•This view shows the Crucifixion
•Dark background, dead, decomposing body
•Arms detached from sockets, brutalized body, agony of the
body shown = agony of ergotism
•Mary is dressed like a hospital nun and is swooning in grief
•John the Baptist with a lamb (symbol of Christ’s sacrifice)
•Notice how the seam of the panels would ‘amputate’ Christ’s
arm when opened – patients w/ ergotism would be as well
•St. Sebastian on left (martyred by arrows)
•St. Anthony the Great (keeping calm even though there’s a
monster outside the window)
•Both saints protect and heal the sick
•This is the second view
•Christ rising from the dead, rags are now beautiful robes, no more
wounds or suffering (message to patients – your disease will vanish
when you go to heaven)
•Left shows the ANNUNCIATION (angel Gabriel tells
Mary she will give birth to the son of God, no pressure) –
depicted in a chapel because it’s a sacred event
•Center – concert of angles and the Nativity
•Lots of symbols: enclosed garden = Mary’s womb and perpetual
virginity, rose bush w/o thorns = Mary is free from sin,
•fig tree = mother’s milk
•This is the third (and final!) view
•Symbols of ergotism- oozing boils, withered arm, distended
stomach
•St. Anthony in center
•Who else is here? – St. Augustine and Guy Guers (the patron),
bearers of offerings, St. Gerome, Christ, 12 Apostles
Visit of Saint Saint Anthony tormented by
Anthony to Saint demons sent by Satan. God sends
Paul the Hermit angels to help combat the demons
Let’s meet Albrecht Durer!

SELF-PORTRAIT
By Albrecht Durer
1500
Oil on wood
This is his
house in
Nurnberg,
Germany
(Smo cam)
It’s cool inside!
How did I
NOT take a
selfie here?
•Who does he remind you
of (appearance, pose,
etc.)?
•Christ-like pose, but not
blasphemous!
•God’s creativity is
reflected in humans’
creativity
•Frontal, symmetrical
pose
•Directly looking at the
viewer, engaging
•Triangular form
•Christ-like pose, but not
blasphemous!
•God’s creativity is
reflected in humans’
creativity
•Frontal, symmetrical
pose
•Directly looking at the
viewer, engaging
•Triangular form
•Durer is considered
the greatest artist of the
Northern Renaissance

•He did it all! –

altarpieces, religious
works, portraits, self-
portraits, engravings,
etc.
Self-Portrait at 26
By Durer
1498
Oil on panel
ADAM AND EVE
By Albrecht Durer
1504
engraving
How would you
describe their
physique? Remind
you of anything
else from the past?
•Influenced by
classical sculpture
•Italian influence
•Contrapposto
•Northern Europe
twist – super detailed
•Adam tries to reason
with Eve – he grabs a
branch of mountain
ash (which snakes
don’t like)
APOLLO BELVEDERE
Roman copy of a Greek original
MEDICI VENUS (Greek)
•Humans look ideal
(before the fall of
man!)
•Lots of symbolism:
•Mouse = Satan
•Parrot = cleverness
•Four humors are
represented by animals
(cat = angry, rabbit =
energetic, elk = sad,
ox = lethargic) – four
humors kept in balance
before the fall of man
Four Horsemen of
the Apocalypse
By: Albrecht Durer
1498
woodcut
•In the Bible’s
“Book of
Revelations”, four
horsemen come at
the end of the world
to destroy life. How
uplifting!
•They have weapons:
famine (scales), war
(sword), death
(pitchfork) and
pestilence (bow)
•Where is the line
between earth and
heaven? There isn’t
one!
•Crowded
composition
•Four horsemen ride
swiftly over the dead
A Young Hare
By Durer
1502
Watercolor on
paper

Awwwwww…
•Masterpiece of
observational
painting, nearly
photographic
accuracy, almost
scientific study
•Warm golden
light
•Layers of paint
build up density
of fur
Window reflects in eye = Durer probably worked from a live hare in his
studio
 Four Apostles
By: Albrecht Durer
1526
Oil on wood panel
•John and Peter are
on the left
•Peter represented
the pope in Rome,
so Durer placed
him behind John
(Durer was a
Lutheran, and thus
did not believe in
the pope’s
importance in the
church)
•Mark and Paul are
on the right
•Protestants like
Paul (in white, in
front)
 Peter
•Four humors
Paul represented:
JOHN Mark •John is sanguine
(optimistic,
cheerful)
•Paul is melancholic
(sad, depressed)
•Mark is choleric
(angry, irritated)
•Peter is phlegmatic
(lethargic)
 Peter
•Would you believe
Paul this was painted for
Mark a city hall and not a
JOHN
church?! I kid you
not!
•Figures are in
Italian style, but
with Northern
European attention
to detail
 Battle of Issus
By: Albrecht Altdorfer
1529
Oil on wood panel
•A scene that shows the
victory of Greek
Alexander the Great
over Persian King
Darius in 333 BCE
•In reference to the
battle against the Turks
fought by William IV of
Bavaria (the patron of
this painting)
•People are in Medieval
outfits, though (?) in the
Alpine landscape
•Sun is setting
over the Greeks,
moon is rising
over the Persians
•Background
includes
references to the
Nile delta, Cyprus,
and the isthmus of
Suez. Nile empties
into
Cyprus (Greek island in
the Mediterranean Sea)
•This is Altdorfer’s #1
masterpiece
•This is what we call a
WORLD LANDSCAPE
(shows an imaginary
panoramic landscape
from an elevated
viewpoint; includes
mountains and lowlands,
water, and buildings;
usually a Biblical or
historical narrative, but
figures are dwarfed by
their surroundings.
•Commissioned by
Duke William IV
of Bavaria to hang
in his home in
Munich (part of a
set of historical
paintings)
•The sky has a
religious undertone
(inspired by
Church’s beliefs
about the
apocalypse)
•Thousands of soldiers
and horses with weapons
•Armies separated by
dress- Alexander’s men
in suits of armor, Persian
wear turbans (look just
like 16th century Turks!)
•Bodies of fallen soldiers
on ground
•Soldiers continue across
the battlefield to the
campsite and cityscape
by the water – moving
toward the mountains in
the center
•Microscopic details
•Rich colors
Translation: “Alexander the Great defeating the last
Darius, after 100,000 infantry and more than 10,000
cavalrymen had been killed amongst the ranks of the
Persians. Whilst King Darius was able to flee with no
more than 1,000 horsemen, his mother, wife, and children
were taken prisoner.”
 The French
Ambassadors

By:
Hans Holbein

1533

Oil and
tempera on
wood panel
•Double
portrait with
a still life of
carefully
rendered
objects
•Objects are
a reference
to their
educated
background
•The skull is an
ANAMORPHIC
image (done in
distorted
perspective, must
be seen from a
particular angle
or in a cylindrical
mirror to look
“correct”
Ah, that’s better
What the heck is this?
•Skull is meant to
be a visual
puzzle – forces
the viewer to
approach the
painting from the
side to see the
skull become
accurate (the
painting may
have been hung
to encourage this
angle)
•Skull may be
used as a
symbol of
death
•What else is in
this painting?
Polyhedral sundial Shepard Universal
dial equinoctial dial

Arithmetic book
Nice globe too
LEFT figure: an
ambassador to the court
of Henry VIII
(massive, worldly,
extroverted, looking
directly at viewer)

RIGHT figure: a bishop

(introverted,
ecclesiastical-ie:
relating to the church,
dark clothing, eyes
slightly averted from
viewer)
Concealed
crucifix in upper
left – Christ is
presiding over the
destinies of these
men…who
inevitably will die
(no one can
escape death,
even the most
successful/good
people)
Lute with a broken string (death symbol as well?)
 Hey, show a
movie about us!

Click here for a short movie about this piece

And speaking of
Henry VIII…

Henry VIII
By Hans Holbein

1540

Oil on wood
panel
•Henry is
looking VERY
massive,
confrontational,
and confident
•Frontal pose
•Anything
“mannerist”
about this
piece?
•Blue
background was
a Holbein
trademark
•Fancy clothes-
dressed for his
wedding to 4th
wife, Anne of
Cleves
Click here to watch a movie
about me!
Return of the Hunters
By: Pieter Brugel
1565, oil on wood panel
•A series of six paintings that represent different times of year
•This one is November/December
•Alpine landscape, winter scene
•Strong diagonals lead eye into the painting
•High horizon line = Northern European tradition
•Endless details
•Hunt isn’t going so well in the winter, poor little dogs are
skinny and hanging their heads, hunters trudging along wearily
•All they got is a little fox (pathetic)
•Calm, cold, overcast day
•Muted whites and grays, bare trees, smoke from fires in the air
•People prepare food at an outdoor fire (be thankful for ovens)
•People are peasants, not anyone in particular
•Nothing is static, movement throughout the painting
•People ice skate, play hockey on frozen lake
I hate winter. Click here to
watch a movie about our
pathetic hunt.
 Burial of
Count Orgaz
By: El Greco

1586

Oil on canvas
•Count Orgaz
died 300 years
before this
painting was
commissioned
•This painting
hangs above his
tomb in Santo
Tome (a church)
•Painting shows
Orgaz being
placed directly in
His tomb in Santo
Tome, in Spain
•Count Orgaz was
a great
philanthropist,
supported the
church of Santo
Tome (painting
commissioned by
the priest)
•Saints come down
from heaven to
bury him – this
painting shows that
miracle
Bottom of painting: somber earth
Top of painting: ecstatic heaven
The cross
bridges the
gap between
earth and
heaven
•Catholics believe
that doing good
works
(philanthropy) is
essential for leading
a good Christian life
(remember, this is a
SPANISH painting,
where Catholicism
is strong)
Legend of Orgaz’s burial: Saint Stephen and Saint Augustine
descended in person from the heavens and buried him by their
own hands in front of the dazzled eyes of those present
•Venetian color
•Spanish
mysticism
•Mannerist style:
elongated figures,
twisting of
figures,
disembodied
hands, crowded
space
•What a combo of
styles!
•Venetian color
•Spanish
mysticism
•Mannerist style:
elongated figures,
twisting of
figures,
disembodied
hands, crowded
space
•What a combo of
styles!
•Priest is conducting the funeral, but the crowd
isn’t really paying attention to him – paying
attention to Orgaz instead, focused on the action
Soul Jesus
transported to
heaven by
angels

Mary John the Baptist

Child is El Greco’s son, Jorge Manuel. Is he
pointing to Orgaz or the flower on the sleeve of the
saint?
•Anachronistic
scene (out of
chronological
order) – Christian
saints from early
days of Church
bury a 14th
century man
(Orgaz) with 16th
century
dignitaries in
attendance (???)
•El Greco painted
himself in there!
VOCABULARY:

•ANAMORPHIC IMAGE: an image that must

be viewed by a special means, such as a mirror,
in order to be recognized
•ENGRAVING: a printmaking process in which
a toll called a burin is used to carve into a metal
plate, causing impressions to be made in the
surface. Ink passes into the crevices of the plate,
and paper is applied. The result is a print with
remarkable details and finely shaded contours
•POLYPTYCH: a many-paneled altarpiece
•WOODCUT: a printmaking process in which a
wooden tablet is gouged into with a tool, leaving
the design raised and the background cut away
(like a rubber stamp). Ink is rolled onto the
raised portions, and an impression is made when
paper is applied to the surface. – have strong
angular surfaces with sharply delineated lines.

FIN