CHAPTER EIGHTEEN RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY NORTHERN EUROPE
France: Courtly Tastes for Italian Forms
Key Images The Château of Chambord, p. 623, 18.1 Gilles Le Breton, Cour du Cheval Blanc, Fontainebleau, p. 624, 18.3 Pierre Lescot, Square Court of the Louvre, Paris, p. 624, 18.4 The Unicorn in Captivity, p. 625, 18.5 Francesco Primaticcio, Stucco Figures, p. 627, 18.6 Benvenuto Cellini, Saltcellar of Francis I, p. 627, 18.7 Francesco Primaticcio and Germain Pilon, Tomb of Henry II and Catherine de’ Medici, p. 628, 18.8 Germain Pilon, Gisants of the king and queen, detail of the Tomb of Henry II and Catherine de’Medici, p. 628, 18.9
• French patrons were deeply influenced by Italian art and architecture, brought to France by Italian artists including Leonardo da Vinci and Benvenuto Cellini.
• French palaces were often based on an Italian model, although they had a greater vertical emphasis.
• Italian Mannerists in Francis I′s court of Fontainebleau established Mannerism in France—which in the work of Primaticcio took expression in slim nudes and Greek and Roman themes.
Spain: Global Power and Religious Orthodoxy
Key Images El Greco, The Burial of Count Orgaz, p. 630, 18.11 Chapel with The Burial of Count Orgaz, p. 631, 18.12
• During the sixteenth century, Spanish patrons commissioned religious art that was influenced by Italian works. The influence of Italian art and architecture on Spanish architecture can be seen in Phillip II′s monastic complex, the Escorial, outside Madrid.
• El Greco′s style was influenced by the Mannerist movement and by the Venetian emphasis on color. In El Greco′s work, these two styles blend together.
• El Greco absorbed influences from his background in icon painting, the Italian Mannerists, contemporary Venetian and Roman art, and the Spanish mysticism of Theresa of Avila.
Central Europe: The Reformation and Art
Key Images Matthias Grünewald, St. Sebastian; The Crucifixion; St. Anthony Abbot; predella: Lamentation, Isenheim Altarpiece, p. 634, 18.13 Matthias Grünewald, The Annunciation; Madonna and Child with Angels; The Resurrection, Isenheim Altarpiece, p. 634, 18.14 Matthias Grünewald, The Resurrection, Isenheim Altarpiece, p. 635, 18.15 Albrecht Dürer, Hare, p. 636, 18.16 Albrecht Dürer, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, p. 636, 18.17 Albrecht Dürer, Adam and Eve, p. 637, 18.18 Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait, p. 638, 18.19 Albrecht Dürer, Melencolia I, p. 639, 18.20 Albrecht Dürer, The Four Apostles, p. 640, 18.21 Lucas Cranach the Elder, An Allegory of Law and Grace, p. 641, 18.22 Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Judgment of Paris, p. 642, 18.23 Albrecht Altdorfer, The Battle of Issus, p. 643, 18.24 Hans Baldung Grien, Death and the Maiden, p. 644, 18.25 Hans Holbein the Younger, Erasmus of Rotterdam, p. 645, 18.26
• The Reformation deeply influenced the art of Central Europe with the destruction of images due to iconoclasm and a reduction in Church patronage.
• Artists were influenced by Northern European traditions of realism as well as Italian art.
• Albrecht Dürer′s work is a combination of Northern European and Italian traditions, and his use of printmaking spread his influence further.
• Without Church patronage, much of the art was secular in nature, depicting landscapes, scenes from classical mythology, and portraits.
• Secular themes, including the still life, landscape, and the genre scene, flourished as a result of Protestantism and the need to cater to popular taste.
• Portraiture flourished in the hands of artists such as Hans Holbein the Younger.
England: Reformation and Power
Key Images Hans Holbein the Younger, Henry VIII, p. 645, 18.27 Nicholas Hilliard, A Young Man Among Roses, p. 646, 18.28 Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Portrait of Elizabeth I (The Ditcheley Portrait), p. 646, 18.29 Robert Smythson, Allen Maynard, and others, Longleat House, p. 647, 18.30
• During the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, portraiture was the main art form. Hans Holbein the Younger′s style was a mix of Northern European traditions and Italian artistic styles. This can be seen in his portrait of Henry VIII in which he combines the frontality of Dürer and the influence of the Italian artist Agnolo Bronzino.
• In her portraits, Elizabeth I adopted an elaborate iconography to underscore her authority, seen in Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger′s Portrait of Elizabeth I (The Ditcheley Portrait).
• The Longleat House at Wiltshire was constructed as a place where Elizabeth I could be received, with the building functioning as an elaborate stage to highlight the power of the monarch.
The Netherlands: World Marketplace
Key Images Gerard David, Virgin Among Virgins, p. 649, 18.32 Jan Gossaert, Danaë, p. 650, 18.33 Cornelis Floris and Willem van den Broek, p. 651, 18.34 Joachim Patinir, Landscape with St. Jerome Removing the Thorn from the Lion’s Paw, p. 652, 18.35 Pieter Aertsen, The Meat Stall, p. 653, 18.36 Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Return of the Hunters, p. 654, 18.37 Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Peasant Wedding, p. 655, 18.38 Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Blind Leading the Blind, p. 656, 18.39
• With the rise of Protestantism, there were fewer commissions for religious art. Instead, the focus was on landscape paintings, still lifes, as well as genre scenes.
• Pieter Aertsen and Pieter Bruegel the Elder used the technique of ″inverted″ perspective, which placed the subject of the work in the background.
• Bruegel′s images of peasants are still debated in modern scholarship with some suggesting that the peasants are ″caricatures″ created to entertain urban dwellers. Others suggest that his paintings are a celebration of the common man.
• Many of Bruegel′s paintings are based on Biblical proverbs, such as The Blind Leading the Blind. In this painting, Bruegel′s use of diagonals underscores the instability of the walkers, who stumble across the field. The meaning of the church in the background is enigmatic, since it could be a reference to spiritual blindness.
Key Terms/Places/Names the keep printing press marble gisants Henry II Catherine de’ Medici the Escorial Martin Luther stipples Desiderius Erasmus inverted perspective
Discussion Questions
1. How did the Reformation affect artistic visions in Northern Europe during the sixteenth century?
2. Why do you think that the Italian Renaissance aesthetic had less of an impact on Northern European architecture and sculpture in the sixteenth century?
3. How does Dürer’s approach to the human figure following his Italian trip differ from that of Grünewald?
4. How would you compare and contrast the Renaissance in Northern Europe during the sixteenth century with that in Italy during the same period?
5. In what ways did Elizabeth I control her iconography? What iconography did she adopt?
Resources
Books
Bartrum, Giulia, Gunter Grass, Joseph Koerner, and Ute Kuhlemann. Albrecht Dürer and His Legacy: The Graphic Work of a Renaissance Artist. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002.
Baxandall, Michael. The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980.
Davies, David, and John Huxtable Elliott. El Greco. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.
Hayum, Andre. The Isenheim Altarpiece, God's Medicine and the Painter's Vision. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989.
Linfert, Carl. Hieronymus Bosch. New York: Harry Abrams, 1989.
DVDs
Empires—Martin Luther. (2005) PBS Paramount. 120 min. The Dutch Masters—Bruegel. (2006). Kultur Video. 50 min.
www
Albrecht Dürer’s Melencolia http://www.alchemylab.com/melancholia.htm
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ReplyDeleteRENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION IN SIXTEENTH-CENTURY NORTHERN EUROPE
France: Courtly Tastes for Italian Forms
Key Images
The Château of Chambord, p. 623, 18.1
Gilles Le Breton, Cour du Cheval Blanc, Fontainebleau, p. 624, 18.3
Pierre Lescot, Square Court of the Louvre, Paris, p. 624, 18.4
The Unicorn in Captivity, p. 625, 18.5
Francesco Primaticcio, Stucco Figures, p. 627, 18.6
Benvenuto Cellini, Saltcellar of Francis I, p. 627, 18.7
Francesco Primaticcio and Germain Pilon, Tomb of Henry II and Catherine de’ Medici,
p. 628, 18.8
Germain Pilon, Gisants of the king and queen, detail of the Tomb of Henry II and Catherine de’Medici, p. 628, 18.9
• French patrons were deeply influenced by Italian art and architecture, brought to France by Italian artists including Leonardo da Vinci and Benvenuto Cellini.
• French palaces were often based on an Italian model, although they had a greater vertical emphasis.
• Italian Mannerists in Francis I′s court of Fontainebleau established Mannerism in France—which in the work of Primaticcio took expression in slim nudes and Greek and Roman themes.
Spain: Global Power and Religious Orthodoxy
Key Images
El Greco, The Burial of Count Orgaz, p. 630, 18.11
Chapel with The Burial of Count Orgaz, p. 631, 18.12
• During the sixteenth century, Spanish patrons commissioned religious art that was influenced by Italian works. The influence of Italian art and architecture on Spanish architecture can be seen in Phillip II′s monastic complex, the Escorial, outside Madrid.
• El Greco′s style was influenced by the Mannerist movement and by the Venetian emphasis on color. In El Greco′s work, these two styles blend together.
• El Greco absorbed influences from his background in icon painting, the Italian Mannerists, contemporary Venetian and Roman art, and the Spanish mysticism of Theresa of Avila.
Central Europe: The Reformation and Art
Key Images
Matthias Grünewald, St. Sebastian; The Crucifixion; St. Anthony Abbot; predella: Lamentation, Isenheim Altarpiece, p. 634, 18.13
Matthias Grünewald, The Annunciation; Madonna and Child with Angels; The Resurrection, Isenheim Altarpiece, p. 634, 18.14
Matthias Grünewald, The Resurrection, Isenheim Altarpiece, p. 635, 18.15
Albrecht Dürer, Hare, p. 636, 18.16
Albrecht Dürer, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, p. 636, 18.17
Albrecht Dürer, Adam and Eve, p. 637, 18.18
Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait, p. 638, 18.19
Albrecht Dürer, Melencolia I, p. 639, 18.20
Albrecht Dürer, The Four Apostles, p. 640, 18.21
Lucas Cranach the Elder, An Allegory of Law and Grace, p. 641, 18.22
Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Judgment of Paris, p. 642, 18.23
Albrecht Altdorfer, The Battle of Issus, p. 643, 18.24
Hans Baldung Grien, Death and the Maiden, p. 644, 18.25
Hans Holbein the Younger, Erasmus of Rotterdam, p. 645, 18.26
• The Reformation deeply influenced the art of Central Europe with the destruction of images due to iconoclasm and a reduction in Church patronage.
• Artists were influenced by Northern European traditions of realism as well as Italian art.
• Albrecht Dürer′s work is a combination of Northern European and Italian traditions, and his use of printmaking spread his influence further.
• Without Church patronage, much of the art was secular in nature, depicting landscapes, scenes from classical mythology, and portraits.
• Secular themes, including the still life, landscape, and the genre scene, flourished as a result of Protestantism and the need to cater to popular taste.
• Portraiture flourished in the hands of artists such as Hans Holbein the Younger.
England: Reformation and Power
Key Images
Hans Holbein the Younger, Henry VIII, p. 645, 18.27
Nicholas Hilliard, A Young Man Among Roses, p. 646, 18.28
Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Portrait of Elizabeth I (The Ditcheley Portrait), p. 646, 18.29
Robert Smythson, Allen Maynard, and others, Longleat House, p. 647, 18.30
• During the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, portraiture was the main art form.
Hans Holbein the Younger′s style was a mix of Northern European traditions and
Italian artistic styles. This can be seen in his portrait of Henry VIII in which he
combines the frontality of Dürer and the influence of the Italian artist Agnolo
Bronzino.
• In her portraits, Elizabeth I adopted an elaborate iconography to underscore her authority, seen in Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger′s Portrait of Elizabeth I (The Ditcheley Portrait).
• The Longleat House at Wiltshire was constructed as a place where Elizabeth I could be received, with the building functioning as an elaborate stage to highlight the power of the monarch.
The Netherlands: World Marketplace
Key Images
Gerard David, Virgin Among Virgins, p. 649, 18.32
Jan Gossaert, Danaë, p. 650, 18.33
Cornelis Floris and Willem van den Broek, p. 651, 18.34
Joachim Patinir, Landscape with St. Jerome Removing the Thorn from the Lion’s Paw,
p. 652, 18.35
Pieter Aertsen, The Meat Stall, p. 653, 18.36
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Return of the Hunters, p. 654, 18.37
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Peasant Wedding, p. 655, 18.38
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Blind Leading the Blind, p. 656, 18.39
• With the rise of Protestantism, there were fewer commissions for religious art. Instead, the focus was on landscape paintings, still lifes, as well as genre scenes.
• Pieter Aertsen and Pieter Bruegel the Elder used the technique of ″inverted″ perspective, which placed the subject of the work in the background.
• Bruegel′s images of peasants are still debated in modern scholarship with some suggesting that the peasants are ″caricatures″ created to entertain urban dwellers. Others suggest that his paintings are a celebration of the common man.
• Many of Bruegel′s paintings are based on Biblical proverbs, such as The Blind Leading the Blind. In this painting, Bruegel′s use of diagonals underscores the instability of the walkers, who stumble across the field. The meaning of the church in the background is enigmatic, since it could be a reference to spiritual blindness.
Key Terms/Places/Names
the keep
printing press
marble gisants
Henry II
Catherine de’ Medici
the Escorial
Martin Luther
stipples
Desiderius Erasmus
inverted perspective
Discussion Questions
1. How did the Reformation affect artistic visions in Northern Europe during the sixteenth century?
2. Why do you think that the Italian Renaissance aesthetic had less of an impact on Northern European architecture and sculpture in the sixteenth century?
3. How does Dürer’s approach to the human figure following his Italian trip differ
from that of Grünewald?
4. How would you compare and contrast the Renaissance in Northern Europe during the sixteenth century with that in Italy during the same period?
5. In what ways did Elizabeth I control her iconography? What iconography did she adopt?
Resources
Books
Bartrum, Giulia, Gunter Grass, Joseph Koerner, and Ute Kuhlemann. Albrecht Dürer and His Legacy: The Graphic Work of a Renaissance Artist. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002.
Baxandall, Michael. The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany. New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1980.
Davies, David, and John Huxtable Elliott. El Greco. New Haven: Yale University Press,
2003.
Hayum, Andre. The Isenheim Altarpiece, God's Medicine and the Painter's Vision.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989.
Linfert, Carl. Hieronymus Bosch. New York: Harry Abrams, 1989.
DVDs
Empires—Martin Luther. (2005) PBS Paramount. 120 min.
The Dutch Masters—Bruegel. (2006). Kultur Video. 50 min.
www
Albrecht Dürer’s Melencolia http://www.alchemylab.com/melancholia.htm