Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece), Robert Campin, 1427–32, Met Cloisters

Early Northern Renaissance (1400)

Alejo, Aieshah A., Bumacas, Janette M., Gadingan, Kyla Isabel G., Macaraeg,
Aryanne C., Pacate, Irene C. and Te-od, Krizza Mae P. Section: AAH
 Brief History of the Movement

The Early Northern renaissance during

the 14th century marked the period in
which the rest of Europe rediscover and
emulate the kind of art that the Roman
and Greek people did.

Early renaissance practices and the

increase of intellectual development
began to flourish with the help of the
printing press. It gave the power to
spread knowledge of scientific research
and political ideas, which considerably
impacted the development of northern
Europe.
 Characteristics of the Movement:
 Oil painting- In its simplest form, oil
paint is a mixture of three things:
pigment, binder and thinner.
 Oil paint may also contain a number of
other additives, to promote drying,
appearance and other actions.
 Pigment is the color element, while the
binder (the oil) is the liquid vehicle
which holds the ground-up pigment to
be applied to the canvas or whatever
support is to be painted.
 A thinner is usually added to the viscous
pigment-oil mixture to make it easier to
apply with a brush.

Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry(The Donne Triptych), Herman, Paul and Jean de Limbourg, 1413-16
 Characteristics of the Movement:

 Symbolism-Artists
communicated their ideas
through symbols instead of
bluntly depicting reality.
 Symbolists were also looking
for an escape from their
everyday life.
 Symbolism was created as a
reaction to art movements that
depicted the natural world
realistically, such as
Impressionism, Realism, and
Naturalism.
The jewelry and headdress reveals the nobility of the subject

Portrait of a Young Girl, Herman, Petrus Christus, 1470, Gemaldegalerie, Staatliche Museen, Berlin
Characteristics of the Movement:

Stage for the groping adolescence of the

European art and identity.
Resurgence of learning based on classical
sources - development of linear perspective and
other techniques of rendering a more natural
reality in painting.
Gradual but widespread educational reform on
the field of art.
 Artists from the Movement:

He is a Northern Renaissance painter and

one of the great Early Netherlandish artists.
His works consist mainly of religious
triptychs, altarpieces and commissioned
single and diptych portraits, but he produced
secular paintings and some sensitive
portraits.
He was highly successful and
internationally famous in his lifetime, he
received commissions from, amongst others,
Philip the Good, Netherlandish nobility and
foreign princes.
Roger de la Pasture
also known as Roger He is known as one of the most influential
v a n d e r We y d e n Northern painter of his time.
(1399-1464)
 Artists from the Movement:

J a n Va n E yc k ( 1 3 9 0 - 1 4 4 1 )

 He is Netherlandish painter and was an

influential painter of the Early
Renaissance.
 His portraits brought terrific realism and
emotion into the portraits of his subjects.
 Best known for his exquisite portraiture
that showcased secular style.
 He was the one who revolutionized
portraiture, increased realism in Medieval Portrait of a Man in a
works, and pioneered the art of oil painting Red Turban (1433)
A p a i n t i n g o f Va n Eyc k ,
alleged as his self-
portrait

Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban, Jan Van Eyck, 1433, National Gallery, London
 Artists from the Movement:

Robert Campin (1378-1444)

 He is one of the earliest and greatest masters

of Flemish Painting.
 He has been identified with the Master of
Flemalle on stylistic and other grounds.
 Characterized by a naturalistic conception of
form and a poetic representation of the
objects of daily life.
 Campin’s work marks a break with the
prevailing International Gothic style.

A M a n ( Fro m A M a n a n d a Wo m a n S e r i e s ) , Ro b e r t C a m p i n , 1 4 3 5 ,
The National Gallery
 P a i n t i n g s d u r i n g t h e M o ve m e n t :
Portinari Altarpiece, (1477-1478)

Portinari Altarpiece, Hugo van der Goes, 1477-1478, The Uffizi

 This altarpiece is about the birth of Jesus - as portrayed on its central part - his
family, the shepherds and peasants around him
 Hugo van der Goes use a hierarchy of scale in creating the subjects, making the
holy family bigger than the other subjects such as the angels.
 Tommaso Portinari, who commissioned the painting, is on the left side panel
of the altarpiece with his sons, while her wife and daughter is on the right.
 The people around the piece is all their donors along with their Patron Saints
 Descent from the Cross (Deposition of Christ), (1435-1440)

Descent from the Cross (Deposition of Christ), Roger van der Wyden, 1435-1440, Prado, Madrid

 A painting that portrays the moment when Jesus Christ was lowered from
crucifixion
 It showcases Roger van der Weyden’s skill in composing his pieces, laying the
subjects proportionately and cohesively
 The use of colors and the execution of fine details captures the emotions of
the subjects and the movement of the scene
 Ghent Altarpiece, (1425-1432)

Ghent Altarpiece, Jan van Eyck, 1425-1432, Cathedral of St Bavo, Ghent, Belgium
 The work's symbolic iconography is complex and mysterious.
 Represents the first ambitious and consummate use of oil paint, and it marks the
birth of realism as a guiding principle in European painting.
 The piece creates a naturalistic divine world illustrating an epic swath of biblical
narratives.
 At the time the altarpiece was unveiled, it was hailed as not only a masterpiece,
but also the singular work that epitomized the spirit and genius of Northern
Europe.
 Significance of the Movement:

Renaissance art, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and

literature produced combined influences of an increased awareness
of nature, a revival of classical learning, and a more individualistic
view of man.
The Northern Renaissance was a time of great intellectual and
spiritual awakening of people.
 It allowed the local elites to patronize, artists and scholars. In this
era, artists and writers could not live and work without the support
of the wealthy.
Renaissance art completely revitalized the entire concept of art in
Europe. It branched out beyond the merely religious purpose of
medieval artwork. It reflected a new humanist philosophy, and it
engaged with its viewer in a novel yet natural way that had not
been done since the end of the classical period.
 Influence of the Movement:

 Northern artists’ introduced powerful changes such as the perfection

of oil paint and almost impossible representation of minute detail
 Protestant Reformation and the translation of the Bible from the
original languages into the vernacular or common languages such as
German and French
 It opened the way for the cultural, social, and economic changes
 The painters developed other subject matters, such as landscape and
genre painting.
 The advent of mechanically reproducible media such as woodcuts and
engravings
 The formation of a merchant class of art patrons that purchased works
in oil on panel
 References:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/470304
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/northern-
renaissance1/limbourg-brothers/a/limbourg-brothers-trs-riches-heures
https://www.artatberlin.com/en/portfolio-item/petrus-christus-portrait-of-a-
young-girl/
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/atd-sac-artappreciation/chapter/reading-
florence-in-the-early-renaissance/
https://drawpaintacademy.com/symbolism-art-movement/
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/oil-painting.htm
https://dereksarthistorytimeline.weebly.com/early-northern-renaissance.html?
fbclid=IwAR2Ayk1dJzXYJf81rB0z3XFo4NY58hLyeIDPlGj8IlsKGMoQ62GapHJQ-_A
https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/adoration-of-the-shepherds-with-angels-and-
saint-thomas-saint-anthony-saint-margaret-mary-magdalen-and-the-portinari-
family-recto-annunciation-verso
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/portinari-altarpiece.htm
 References:
https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-descent-from-
the-cross/856d822a-dd22-4425-bebd-920a1d416aa7
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/descent-from-the-cross-
weyden.htm
https://www.geni.com/people/Rogier-van-der-Weyden/6000000011412411429
https://www.wikiart.org/en/rogier-van-der-weyden
https://study.com/academy/lesson/jan-van-eyck-biography-technique-
portraits.html
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/robert-campin
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Campin
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/the-
northern-renaissance/
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/northern-
renaissance1/beginners-guide-northern-renaissance/a/an-introduction-to-the-
northern-renaissance-in-the-fifteenth-century