17
fifteenth-Century Art in Northern Europe
ave you ever used oil paints? What is the difference between oil
H
paints and other paints such as watercolors? This innovation in art was part of the change in northern Europe. The Middle Ages lasted longer here than in Italy. Eventually, commerce and industry began to catch up, bringing wealth, city growth, and a new middle class. In time, a pursuit of worldly pleasures matched the old quest for spiritual rewards in the next world. Religious subjects continued to be popular, but artists often included symbols to show spiritual ideals and feelings.
Read to Find Out As you read this chapter, learn why change occurred more slowly in northern Europe than in Italy. Read to discover the origins of oil painting and the work of artists Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and Hugo van der Goes.
Focus Activity Identify the details in the painting in Figure 17.1. Is there a religious theme? Note that the grapes reflect the religious symbolism of the times. Write down the details of clothing, drapery folds, and setting for the figures in the painting. Look at the background and the foreground. What do you think the figure in the background might symbolize?
Using the Time Line The Time Line introduces you to some of the artworks and developments of Renaissance painting in northern Europe. What do you notice about the precision of details?
c. 1435
1434
Rogier van der Weyden emphasizes the emotional impact of his subject
matter in Descent from the Cross
c. 1425–28
Jan van Eyck paints one of his best-known works,
The Arnolfini Wedding
(Detail)
c. late 1300s
Philip of Burgundy gains control of Flanders
Robert Campin is one of the first artists to use oil paint (Detail)
- 1350
- 1400
- 1337–1453
- c. 1440–1460
- Gutenberg perfects printing press
- Hundred Years’ War between England and France
378
■ FIGURE 17.1 Gerard David. The Rest on the Flight into Egypt. c. 1510. Oil on panel. 44.3 ϫ 44.9 cm (177⁄16 ϫ 1711⁄16Љ). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Andrew W. Mellon Collection.
c. 1476
Hugo van der Goes
1479 c. 1505–1510
paints his most
Brussels becomes the
center of European tapestry industry
Gerard David paints
The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
ambitious work,
The Portinari Altarpiece
Refer to the Time Line on page H11 in your
Art Handbook for more
about this period.
- 1450
- 1500
c. 1455–1485 Wars of the Roses in England
379
LESSON ONE
Renaissance Painting in Northern Europe
hroughout the fifteenth century, most artists in northern Europe
Vocabulary
■ tempera ■ gesso ■ oil paints
T
(Figure 17.2) remained true to the traditions of the Late Medieval period. This was especially true in architecture. The progress of painting in the North during this time was more complicated, however.
Artists to Meet
■ Jan van Eyck ■ Robert Campin (Master of Flémalle)
Continuation of the International Style
The change from a medieval art style to a more modern art style began later and progressed more slowly in northern Europe than it did in Italy. While Italian artists were busy studying the classical art of ancient Greece and Rome, Northern artists further developed the International style. For this reason, their paintings continued to show a great concern for accurate and precise details.
Discover
After completing this chapter, you will be able to: ■ Explain the effects of the introduction of oil paints.
■ Discuss the precision and color that mark the works of Jan van Eyck.
Artists spent countless hours painting a delicate design on a garment, the leaves on a tree, or the wrinkles on a face. At the same time, symbolism, which was so important in Gothic art, grew even more important.
Renaissance Northern Europe
- 6°W
- 4°W
- 2°W
0°
- 2°E
- 4°E
Many of the details included in a picture had special meanings. For example, a single burning candle meant the presence of God, and a dog was a symbol of loyalty.
North
- 6°E
- 8°E
Sea
ENGLAND
London
Calais
Crécy
Agincourt
New Developments in Painting Techniques
Champagne
Paris
Orléans
Up to this time, European artists were accustomed to
using tempera, a paint made of dry pigments, or colors, which are mixed with a binding material. A binder is a
liquid that holds together the grains of pigment in paint. Typically, this binder was egg yolk, although gum and casein were also used.
r
HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Tempera paint was applied to a surface, often a wooden panel, which had been prepared with a smooth
coating of gesso, a mixture of glue and a white pigment such as plaster, chalk, or white clay. This painting
method, which produced a hard, brilliant surface, was used for many medieval altarpieces.
Avignon
Mediterranean
Sea
Burgundian lands French lands English possessions Battle sites
Development of Oil Paints
MAP SKILLS
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Northern artists’ concern for precision and detail was aided by the development in Flanders of a new oil-painting
technique. Oil paints consist of a mixture of dry pig- ments with oils, turpentine, and sometimes varnish.
■ FIGURE 17.2 During this time, the Hundred Years’ War
between England and France was fought over conflicting claims to the land areas shown on this map. Find a map of
present-day France. Compare the area controlled by England and France today to what they controlled in the 1400s.
380
With such a mixture, artists could produce either a transparent, smooth glaze, or a thick, richly textured surface.
The change from tempera paint to oil was not a sudden one. At first, oil paints were used as transparent glazes placed over tempera underpaintings. The solid forms of figures and objects in a painting were modeled with light and dark values of tempera. Oil glazes were then applied over them, adding a transparent, glossy, and permanent surface. Later, artists abandoned the use of an underpainting and applied the oil paint directly to the canvas, building up a thick, textured surface in the process.
Advantages of Oil Paints
One of the more important advantages of the oil-painting technique was that it slowed down the drying time. This gave artists the chance to work more slowly, so they had time to include more details in their pictures, time that Italian artists working in fresco, did not have. Also, the layers of transparent glazes added a new brilliance to the colors, so that finished paintings looked as if they were lit from within.
Robert Campin (c. 1378–1444)
One of the first artists to use the new medium of oil paint was the Master of Flémalle, now identified by most scholars as the Flemish painter, Robert Campin. His
most famous work, the Merode Altarpiece,
consists of three panels showing, from left to right, the donors of the work kneeling in a garden, Mary receiving the news that she is to be the mother of Christ from the angel Gabriel (Figure 17.1, page 378), and Joseph
working in his carpentry shop (Figure 17.3).
Attention to detail and the use of familiar contemporary settings noted in this work are typical of Campin’s religious pictures. Many of the objects shown are not only realistically rendered but possess symbolic meaning as well. For example, Joseph is seen constructing mousetraps. This symbolized the belief that Christ was the bait with which Satan would be trapped.
■ FIGURE 17.3 This and other works are judged by experts
to be the work of Robert Campin. Along with Jan van Eyck, he is credited with breaking away from the elegant
International style. What features suggest that this artist was concerned with making his painting look real?
Robert Campin (Master of Flémalle). Joseph in His Workshop, Right panel from The Mérode Altarpiece. c. 1425–28. Oil on wood. 64.5 ϫ 27.3 cm (253⁄8 ϫ 103⁄4Љ). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York. Cloisters Collection, 1956. (56.70)
Chapter 17 Fifteenth-Century Art in Northern Europe 381
The Arnolfini Wedding
The Flemish Influence:
■ FIGURE 17.4
Jan van Eyck (c. 1390–1441)
One of van Eyck’s best-known works is a painting of two people standing side by side in a neat, comfortably furnished room
(Figure 17.4). Who are these people and what
are they doing? The man is Giovanni Arnolfini, and the woman at his side is his bride.
Giovanni Arnolfini was a rich Italian merchant who lived in Flanders. It is probable that he became wealthy by selling silk brocade and other luxury goods; he may also have worked as a banker. When Giovanni Arnolfini decided to marry Jeanne de Chenay in 1434, he looked for the best artist available to paint a picture of their wedding. He found that artist in Jan van Eyck, who made him, his bride, and their wedding immortal.
The artist usually given credit for developing this new painting technique was the Flemish master, Jan van Eyck (yahn van ike). The art of Jan van Eyck and his successors, Rogier van der Weyden and Hugo van der Goes, made Flanders the art center of northern Europe. Throughout the fifteenth century, the art produced by Flemish artists was a great influence on other artists in Europe, from Germany to Spain.
Although Jan van Eyck was a product of the late Middle Ages, he went beyond the older traditions of the exceedingly detailed International style to introduce a new painting tradition. Like other Northern artists, he used the International style as a starting point.
PLUMED HATS. The Renaissance opened the
door for more decorative fashion. People dressed in fancier clothing. Wide brimmed hats were worn by both men and women, and were often trimmed with feather plumes.
- c. 1400
- 1500
Northern
Renaissance
See more Time & Place events on the Time Line, page H11 in your Art Handbook
Activity
Listing Artifacts. The
new middle class was concerned more with commerce and material goods than ever before. If you lived during this time you would be wearing the style of the day and would want the latest in home furnishings and decoration. What other items besides the clock pictured here might be available to you? Look at the details in the artworks in this chapter for ideas, research technological advances during this period, and make yourself a shopping list.
MECHANICAL CLOCK. During
the late 1400s, mechanical clocks like this were in use. They worked with weights, had only one hand and some had a bell that struck on the hour.
Photograph courtesy of The Time Museum, Rockford, Illinois.
382 Unit Six Art of an Emerging Modern Europe
Symbolism in Flemish
The wedding couple solemnly faces the witnesses to the
1
ceremony. Giovanni raises his right hand as if he is saying an oath, while his bride places her right hand in his left. Both figures look real, but frozen in their poses.
➤
2
The mirror shows a reflection of the room, the backs of Giovanni and his bride, and two other people standing in the doorway. These two people face the bride and groom
4
➤
The single burning candle is a symbol of God’s presence. and are probably the witnesses to the exchange of vows.
DETAIL:
Mirror and inscription.
▲
5
➤
Innocence is suggested by the fruit on the table and windowsill.
6
➤
Above the mir-
3
ror is a Latin
The couple
have removed their shoes as a sign inscription that reads, “Jan van Eyck was here.”
that a holy event is taking place.
■ FIGURE 17.4 Jan van Eyck. The Arnolfini Wedding. 1434. Oil on panel. 83.8 ϫ 57.2 cm (33 ϫ 221ր2Љ). National Gallery, London, England.
7
The little dog represents the loyalty that the husband and wife pledge to each other.
Chapter 17 Fifteenth-Century Art in Northern Europe 383
placement of the angels kneeling at the altar and the prophets and other worshipers around the fountain leads your eye to this center of interest. Other groups of saints and worshipers move toward it from each of the four corners of the painting.
Like Masaccio, van Eyck controls the flow of light and uses atmospheric perspective to create the illusion of deep space in his work. Unlike that in Masaccio’s work, however, the light in van Eyck’s painting is crystal clear. It allows you to see perfectly the color, texture, and shape of every object.
Adoration of the Lamb
■ FIGURE 17.5
Van Eyck’s painting Adoration of the Lamb
(Figure 17.5) is the central lower panel of a large (14.5 ϫ 11 feet) altarpiece containing 12 panels. It shows angels, saints, and earthly worshipers moving through a green valley toward a sacrificial altar. A lamb, one of the symbols of Christ, stands on this altar. Blood from the lamb flows into a chalice. In the foreground is a fountain from which flows the pure water of eternal life.
This painting most likely was inspired by a
Bible passage that refers to Christ as the Paschal, or sacrificial, Lamb. The symbolism in the picture conveys the belief that eternal salvation is possible for all because Christ sacrificed his life on the cross, and that his death made possible the water of salvation received by the faithful at baptism.
Mastery of Detail
The details in van Eyck’s picture are painted with extraordinary care. Every object, no matter how small or insignificant, is given equal importance. This attention to detail enabled van Eyck to create a special kind of realism—a realism in which the color, shape, and texture of every object were painted only after long study.
The scene is carefully organized so that the lamb is the obvious center of interest. The
■ FIGURE 17.5 Notice how the figures have been arranged in this work. Point to the center of interest. How is your attention directed to that center?
Jan van Eyck. Adoration of the Lamb, central panel from The Ghent Altarpiece. 1432. Tempera and oil on wood. Cathedral St. Bavo, Ghent, Belgium.
384 Unit Six Art of an Emerging Modern Europe
■ FIGURE 17.6 This
work is rich in details. Notice the variety of textures in the objects and figures.
How many different kinds of textures can you find?
In van Eyck’s Saint Gerome
in His Study (Figure 17.6),
you will see how skillfully he painted even the smallest details. The books and articles on the table seem to glow softly in the mellow light. Notice the deep colors of green in the tablecloth, the reds and blues of the cloak and drapery. Even the texture in the paper, wool, leather, and glass add to the precise detail of van Eyck’s work, a style that has never been equaled.
Jan van Eyck. Saint Gerome in His Study. c. 1435. Oil on
linen paper, mounted on oak panel. 20.6 ϫ 13.3 cm (81⁄8 ϫ 51⁄4Љ). The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan. City of Detroit Purchase.
It is still not known how van Eyck was able to achieve many of his effects. Somehow, by combining a study of nature with a sensitive use of light and color, he was able to produce paintings that others could not duplicate. No painter has ever been able to match van Eyck’s marvelous precision and glowing color.
LESSON ONE REVIEW
Reviewing Art Facts
1. Explain In what way did the interests of Italian artists differ from those of northern European artists during the fifteenth century?
2. Identify Name two characteristics of the International style used widely by northern European artists.
3. Define What is gesso? How is it used?
4. Identify List two advantages of oil paints over tempera.
Exploring Symbolism Beginning with the Early Christian
period, artists used symbolism to convey meanings. The fifteenth-century artists of northern Europe continued to rely on the use of symbols in their works.
Activity In your Visual Arts Journal, create three columns. Title them Christian Art, Renaissance Art, and Flemish Art. Then, make notes in the columns as you compare and contrast the three periods using Figures 13.3, 16.23, and 17.4. All three works use symbolism. How are they alike, and how are they different? Did the use of symbols change over time? Explain your conclusions to the class.
Chapter 17 385
Visit art.glencoe.com for study tools and review activities.
LESSON TWO
Realism and Emotionalism
radually, Northern fifteenth-century art developed into a style that
G combined the realism of Jan van Eyck with the emotionalism and
attention to design found in works done during the late Gothic period. This style is best seen in the works of another Northern artist.
Vocabulary
■ triptych
Artists to Meet
■ Rogier van der Weyden ■ Hugo van der Goes
Rogier van der Weyden (c. 1399–1464)
Discover
Jan van Eyck had been concerned with painting every detail with careful precision. Rogier van der Weyden (roh-jair van der vy-den) continued in this tradition, but also emphasized the emotional impact of his subject matter.
After completing this lesson, you will be able to: ■ Describe the differences in paintings done by Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden.
■ Discuss the artistic contributions of Hugo van der Goes.
Descent from the Cross
■ FIGURE 17.7
Rogier’s painting Descent from the Cross (Figure 17.7) was probably the
center part of a triptych, a painting on three hinged panels that can be
folded together. In this painting you see more emotion and a greater concern for organization than you find in van Eyck’s pictures. Organization is achieved through the use of repeating curved axis lines. Observe how the two figures at each side of the picture bend inward and direct your attention to Christ and his mother. In the center of the picture, Christ’s lifeless body forms an S curve, which is repeated in the curve of his fainting mother.
Use of Emphasis
Unlike van Eyck, van der Weyden made no attempt to create a deep space. He managed to group ten figures in this shallow space without making them seem crowded. By placing these figures on a narrow stage and eliminating a landscape behind, he forces you to focus on the drama of Christ’s removal from the cross.
Explore the arts of Northern Europe from the fifteenth century in Web Links at
The figures and the action are brought very close, forcing you to take in every detail. The faces clearly differ from one another, just as the faces of real people do. Every hair, every variation of skin color and texture, and every fold of drapery are painted in with care.
Use of Emotionalism
Equal attention is given to the emotions exhibited by the different facial expressions and gestures. The entire work is a carefully designed and forceful grouping of these different emotional reactions to Christ’s death. Yet, one of the most touching features is also one of the easiest to miss. The space between the two hands—Christ’s right and Mary’s left— suggests the void between the living and the dead.
