NORTHERN EUROPE, 1400-1500

1. NORTHERNEUROPE,1400-1500 GARDNER CHAPTER 20-3 PP. 532-538

2. FRANCE – MANUSCRIPT PAINTING • In the 15th century French painters built on the achievements of the Gothic painters -> produced exquisitely refined ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS • New conception and presentation of space • More pronounced characteristics as illusionistic scenes • Increased contact with Italy = pictorial principles of classical antiquity = French interest in illusionism • 15th century Flanders = peace and prosperity • 15th century France = the Hundred Years’ War -> crippled economy and political instability

3. LIMBOURG BROTHERS • Limbourg Brothers, January, from Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 1413-1416, ink on vellum • International Gothic Style • Full page illustrations contain the months of the year for a BOOK OF HOURS = a book used for reciting of daily prayers from matins to compline • The calendar pages from THE VERY RICH HOURS OF THE DUKE OF BERRY are perhaps the most famous in the history of manuscript painting • Represent the twelve months in terms of associated seasonal tasks -> alternating scenes of nobility and peasantry

4. LES TRES RICHES HEURES DU DUC DE BERRY • Limbourg Brothers, October, from Tres Heures du Duc de Berry • Above each picture is a LUNETTE depicting the Apollo riding a chariot bringing up the sun along with associated zodiac signs • Functions as a religious book and captures the power of the duke and his relationship to the peasants • Naturalism of details; meticulously rendered castles; cast shadows

5. JEAN FOUQUET • Jean Fouquet, Melun Diptych, Etienne Chevalier and Saint Stephen (left wing), Virgin and Child (right wing), 1450-1451, oil on wood • Diptych painted for Etienne Chevalier, treasurer of Charles VII • Chevalier depicted with his patron saint -> devout, pious patron kneeling w/hands clasped in prayer • Saint Stephen shown w/rock of his martyrdom atop bible • ¾ stance and sharp, clear focus • Secular on the leftand sacred on the right • Model for the Virgin was Agnes Sorel, King Charles VII’s mistress

7. HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE - SCULPTURE • The Holy Roman Empire = Germany = was not involved in the Hundred Years’ War -> econ remained stable and prosperous • Did not have a dominant court culture to commission artworks • Patronage came from wealthy merchants and clergy • Art of the early “Northern Renaissance” displays pronounced stylistic diversity • Some followed developments in Flemish painting • Many artists display the power of the lingering Late Gothic style

8. VEIT STOSS • Veit Stoss, Death and Assumption of the Virgin (wings open), altar of the Virgin Mary, Krakow, Poland, 1477-1489. painted and gilded wood, almost 24’ • Altarpiece for the church of Saint Mary in Krakow -> figures in central panel are 9 feet high • On the wings -> scenes from the lives of Christ and Mary • Intense piety of the Late Gothic period -> designed to heighten emotion and glorify the sacred event

9. TILMAN RIEMENSCHNEIDER • Tilman Riemenschneider, The Assumption of the Virgin, center panel of the Creglingen altarpiece, Germany, ca, 1495-1499, lindenwood, 6’ wide • Tilman Riemenschneider specialized in carving large wooden retables -> his works feature intricate Gothic tracery and religious figures who almost lost within their swirling garments • RETABLE = another name for an altarpiece

10. KONRAD WITZ • Konrad Witz, Miraculous Draught of Fish, from the Altarpiece of Saint Peter, Cathedral of Saint Peter, Geneva, Switzerland, 1444, oil on wood • One of the most notable 15th century German altarpieces • Exterior wing of a triptych -> Peter, the first pope, trying to emulate Christ and walk on water • Significant because of the prominence of the landscape-> study of water effects -> sky glaze on the lake surface; mirrored reflections of the figures in the boat; transparency of the shallow water in the foreground

11. GRAPHIC ARTS – MICHEL WOLGEMUT • Revolution in written communication w/the 1450 invention by Johannes Gutenberg of movable type and the printing press • Using a gouging instrument wood blocks are a carved with raised letters -> ridges are inked and hollows remain dry of ink and do not print • Michel Wolgemut, Tarvisium, page from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493, woodcut • Early example of woodcut illustrations in printed books -> more than 650 pictures include detailed views of towns, but they are generic rather than specific portrayals

12. WOODCUTS, ENGRAVINGS, AND ETCHINGS • PRINT = artwork on paper • EDITION = the set of prints created from a single print surface • Printmaking involves the transfer of ink from the printing surface to the paper • Relief prints -> produced by carving into a surface, usually wood-> subtractive process • Intaglio process = artist draws the image onto the plate • The paper and ink the artists use affect the finished look of the printed image • 15th and 16th century -> development of paper from cotton and linen rags • Prints can produce multiple copies -> prints can be sold at cheaper prices

13. MARTIN SCHONGAUER • Martin Schongauer, Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons, ca. 1480-1490 • Metal engraving produces an intaglio (incised) surface for printing • Marvelous variety of tonal values and textures