Northern Renaissance/Mannerism Review

70 Multiple-Choice Questions

  1. Mannerism
  2. Italian movement of mid-16th century – ‘il Maniera’ – ‘the Style’
  3. Elongated body proportions
  4. Figura serpentinata
  5. Unusual lighting effects
  1. Madonna of the Long Neck
  2. Painted by Parmigianino
  3. Accentuated neck and long body proportions
  4. Composition lacks balance (difference from Renaissance)
  5. Jesus and Mary are positioned in figura serpentinata
  1. Portrait of a Young Man
  2. Painted by Bronzino
  3. Bronzino also painted Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time
  4. Young Man stands in figura serpentinata
  5. Cultured and elegant – accentuated long fingers and slender body
  1. Burial of Count Orgaz
  2. Altarpiece painted by El Greco (Greek painter, who travelled to Italy, and wound up in Spain)
  3. Tells the story of the burial of a famous Spanish knight and miraculous events that transpired during his funeral
  4. Depicts the real world burial of Count Orgaz (lower part) with the divine (the miraculous appearance of Saints Stephen and Augustine and the heavenly scene in the upper portion)
  5. Includes several Mannerist elements
  6. Demonstrates the spirituality of Spain
  7. Still displayed in the original church of Santo Tome in Toledo (El Greco’s hometown)
  1. Northern Renaissance (15th – 16th centuries)
  2. Flanders was first to develop oil painting as a medium (Flemish artists later shared it with Italians such as the Venetian painters)
  3. Intricate detail
  4. Symbolic meanings hidden in the guise of everyday objects
  5. Lack of classical references and body types (ie. Figures are not idealized) until Durer
  1. The Very Sumptuous Book of Hours of the Duke of Berry (Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc d’ Berry
  2. Illuminated manuscript painted by the Limbourg Brothers (Paul, Jean, Hermann)
  3. Commissioned by the Duke of Berry
  4. Sumptuous detail shows the influence of International Style
  5. Limbourgs show attention to creating more realistic pictures with a sense of depth
  6. Features calendar pages, a page with a painting with nobles and peasants doing task as well as the astrological signs for each month of the year
  1. Well of Moses
  2. Sculpted by Claus Sluter
  3. Intended for a monastery
  4. Intricate detail in carving and amazing realism
  5. Lacks idealized qualities of Italian Renaissance art (compare to Michelangelo’s Moses)
  1. The French Ambassadors
  2. Painted by the German painter Hans Holbein
  3. Holbein travelled to England where he became court painter to Henry VIII.
  4. Holbein was commissioned to paint a portrait of the French ambassadors to the court of Henry VIII.
  5. The painting shows attention to body mass (influence of Durer and Italian Renaissance), includes intricate details in the surrounding still life objects, and has a well-balanced composition (another Renaissance value).
  6. Includes anamorphic (meaning that it is a distorted shape that when viewed from a proper angle can be clearly seen) skull on the floor.
  7. The French Ambassadors shows the social status, worldly achievement, and refers to religious issues of the 16th century (the man on the right is Bishop Georges de Selve)
  1. Man with a Red Turban
  • Painted by Jan van Eyck, who was a Flemish painter
  • One of the first painted portraits since fall of Roman Empire
  1. Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride
  2. Portrait of a married couple by Jan van Eyck
  3. Symbols in the room refer to 15th century Flemish culture and also have religious meaning
  4. The convex mirror in the back reflects the couple as well as two witnesses. One of the figures may be a self-portrait of Jan van Eyck.
  5. Jan van Eyck is also famous for painting the Ghent Altarpiece.
  1. Isenheim Altarpiece
  2. Painted in oil by Matthias Grunewald
  3. Imagery is associated with the altarpiece’s use in monastic hospital for plague victims
  4. Suffering of Jesus parallels the suffering of the plague victims
  1. The Deposition (a.k.a. The Descent from the Cross)
  2. Painted by Rogier van der Weyden
  3. The space and figural relationships make the scene look like a 15th century sculptural shrine.
  4. The spatial relationships are also reminiscent of sacred dramas that the church used to perform for the public.
  1. Merode Altarpiece
  2. A triptych painted by Robert Campin (Master of Flemalle)
  3. Left panel depicts the donors
  4. Central panel depicts the Annunciation
  5. Everyday objects are used as symbols with a religious message
  1. Fall of Man
  2. An engraving by Albrecht Durer
  3. The narrative is taken from the Old Testament book of Genesis.
  4. Durer was the first Northern European artist to synthesize the Northern Renaissance attention to detail and use of symbolism with the Italian interest in classical sculpture.
  5. Durer was the first major German artist to make trips to Italy.
  6. Apollo Belvedere was an influence for Durer’s depiction of Adam.
  7. Durer usually signed his work with an “AD” monogram to advertise his ability and receive recognition for his work.
  1. A Goldsmith in His Shop, Possibly Saint Eligius
  2. Its intricate details and use of symbolism is representative of Flemish painting. Jan van Eyck was also a Flemish painter.
  3. The convex mirror in the lower right hand corner of the painting resembles the convex mirror in the Arnolfini Marriage Portrait by Jan van Eyck.
  1. The Harvesters
  2. Painted by Pieter Bruegel the Younger
  3. Part of a series of six paintings of seasons of the year, only five of which exist today
  4. Commissioned by a wealthy merchant in Antwerp possibly to decorate different rooms in his house
  5. The Harvesters may represent August/September
  6. Bruegel is famous for being one of the first artists to focus on lives of the peasants
  1. Portrait of Henry VIII
  2. Painted by Hans Holbein, who spent a large part of his career working in the Court of Henry VIII
  3. Holbein also painted The French Ambassadors
  4. Holbein was another Northern Renaissance artists who demonstrated the synthesis of Northern and Italian Renaissance values by the mid-16th century.
  1. Tintoretto
  2. Venetian Mannerist painter
  3. Influenced El Greco
  4. Painted a famous Last Supper