Italian and Northern Renaissance 6

A comparison of the Italian and Northern Renaissance

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Italian and Northern Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance period relates (obviously) to the happenings in Italy at that time, but we need to understand that when we refer to the Northern European Renaissance, we are referring to the renaissance in all of Europe, outside of Italy.

Most of the significant developments in art outside Italy took place in the Netherlands, France and Germany, but other countries also had their contribution to make. Both area, Italy and the North, shred a particular attribute, which in each case lent a certain driving force to the Renaissance movement, in that each had a rich and commercially important hub, or centre. In the case of Italy, this was the great city of Florence. The Medici family, who effectively ‘ruled’ Florence were one of a significant number of wealthy families who to pride in artistic patronage, often vying to outdo each other in their support of the arts. According to Lane “Without this enlightened family's patronage, stretching down through three generations, we might not know today names like Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo, and Michelangelo, all of whom were shepherded to greatness under the uplifting wings of the de' Medici.” (Lane J.)

A similar situation existed in the city of Bruges, in Flanders, where the Dukes of Burgundy (of which Flanders formed part until 1477) played a similar role to that of the Medici in Florence.

Both areas shared a common religious heritage, at least until the start of the Reformation in 1517 in Germany. The Roman Catholic Church had always been a major patron of the arts, commissioning many of the works which are seen today as some of the most wonderful pieces ever to exist. Naturally, the Church did this not out of charity, but for its own ends, effectively directing what would be painted where, and what was suitable for the mass of people to see.

Works of art commissioned by the Church were exclusively religious, and until the early to mid 1500’s, nothing much was to change.

In the early Renaissance, the commonest form of art was the production of illuminated manuscripts. Originally, this took the form of highly decorative capital letters in manuscripts, but the art form developed (particularly in the North to a stage whereby the text became almost incidental to the illumination itself.

A further area of commonality was the Guild system, a very early form of apprenticeship which provided not only training in the ‘manufacturing’ crafts such as weaving or leatherworking, but also encompassed the areas of architecture, painting and sculpture. For a person to become accepted as member of his Guild a man had to undertake a long, arduous and extremely structured training, and even after he had been accepted, his work was monitored by his Guild to make sure that it maintained an adequate level of craftsmanship. The Guild system existed in Italy, but was much more rigorously enforced in the North.

Despite their many similarities, the two areas had significant differences, some dictated by demographics, some by economics, some by religion (after the early 1500s) and some simply by climate.

In terms of numbers, there were many more Italian artists and sculptors than there were outside Italy. Apart from the sheer weight of numbers, they tended to concentrate together in a few selected cities. And their mere closeness and knowledge of each others work generated a vast amount of cross fertilization. Outside of Italy, however, artists of all persuasions were fewer and more widely scattered geographically, reducing the possibilities for cross-fertilization from each other’s work.

As the Renaissance progressed, Italian artists began to concentrate more and more on humanist and rationalist principles and the study of classical antiquity in which they had (in terms of architecture and sculpture at least) a great legacy.

Social thought outside Italy, however, progressed more along the lines of religious reform, in a climate in which the Roman Church was seen as increasingly irrelevant and indeed dangerous.

The techniques of art – especially those of painting differed considerably. In terms of design and composition, the Italians were greatly concerned about anatomy, perspective and proportion. The Northern artists seemed to be obsessed by detail, painting every little wrinkle of skin or stitch in a fabric. It is said that “In Flanders Renaissance works of art took on a character quite different from those of Italy. The masterpieces of 15th-century Flemish painting are remarkable for their acute observation of nature, symbolism in realistic disguise, depiction of spatial depth and landscape backgrounds, and delicate precision of brushwork.” (Columbia Electronic Encyclopaedia)

Climate and natural resource also played apart in the way in which the two areas diverged. Marble was plentiful in Italy, but virtually unobtainable in the North. The drier, sunnier Italian climate made it possible for the production of great frescoes, which in soggy Flanders would never have dried. Painting on wood panels became common practice in the North, and the Northern climate had a hand in the development of oil paints, which would dry happily in this less pleasant climate. The nature of the paints themselves tempered the methods of the painters, allowing those using the new oil paints to introduce highly refined glazing techniques which permitted optical mixing and helped to produce wonderful illusions of depth. The technique is attributed to Jan Van Eyck, and according to Hodge, Van Eyck exploited the qualities of oil as never before, building up layers of transparent glazes, thus giving him a surface on which to capture objects in the minutest detail and allowing for the preservation of his colours. (Hodge N.)

It is interesting to consider these differences as they appear in the works of different artists of the period. Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment”, one of his finest frescos has a centralized perspective, giving the work an almost circular feel. The fresco itself is light, almost luminous, with the blue of the sky giving homogeneity to the entire work, with occasional touches of stronger reds that keep the eye of the viewer moving around the picture. He did, however, use a more monochromatic palette than previously. His use of chiaroscuro around the head of Christ is intense. Deeply religious in sentiment, it is typical Roman Church Art of the period.

The Adoration of the Magi, by Peter Breughel II could hardly be more different. Bethlehem has turned into contemporary Flanders, with the Magi mounted on quite horse like camels.

The entire population of the town has turned out, walking through the winter snow and peering into the tent, while one man busies himself cutting firewood dragged from the canal. The painter’s palette is hardly restrained – it is a riot of color, and there is random activity everywhere. It is a religious work, just as the Last Judgment, but totally lacking in the reverence that Michaelangelo introduced. This is a distinctly northern piece, which an Italian of the time would barely recognize as art.

References.

Columbia Electronic Encyclopaedia, 2007. Retrieved fromhttp://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0858152.html 27 September 2009.

Hodge N. Anson. L. “The A –Z of Art”. Retrieved from http://www.artchive.com/artchive/V/van_eyck.html 27 September 2009

Lane J. Humanities Web. Retrieved from http://www.humanitiesweb.org/human.php?s=g&p=a&a=i&ID=86, 27 September 2009.