***Thank you to VALERIE WHITE of Vista High School, for all her help. All APAH content and information made possible from her hard work. Also, thank you to Dr. Robert Coad for his guidance and materials.
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ARTWORKS LIST Merode Altarpiece Arnolfini Portrait Ghent Altarpiece Garden of Earthly Delights Isenheim Altarpiece Adam and Eve Return of the Hunters Allegory of Law and Grace The Four Apostles |
VOCABULARY altarpiece engraving etching oil paint polyptych triptych woodcut |
KEY IDEAS
- Important secular works of 15th century architecture are influenced by Gothic church architecture.
- International Gothic Style dominates
- Flemish painting is characterized by symbolically rich layers of meaning applied to crowed compositions with high horizon lines
- Printmaking!!!! 1st mass produced art form, radically changes art history!
- Northern Renaissance altarpieces are cupboards rather than screens.
- Gold is used in abundance to show wealth
CAUSES OF THE REFORMATION
- Corruption of the Roman Catholic Church during the Renaissance; sale of indulgences, nepotism, sale of church offices, decline of morality among the clergy.
- Humanism questioned Church traditions; it contradicted the emphasis on salvation.
- Resentment of secular rulers over the power of the popes and the clergy.
HISTORY
- The Reformation began in 1517 when a German monk and scholar named Martin Luther nailed a list of his complaints, the Ninety Five Theses, to the doors of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
- One of the top discussions was the sale of indulgences (people buying their way into Heaven). Luther wanted reform clarification on spiritual issues.
- This led to a split in the Christian faith-
- Countries that were converted into Christianity the latest became Protestant: Germany, Scandinavia, & the Netherlands.
- Countries that had Christian traditions the longest stayed as Catholic: Spain, Italy, Portugal, & Poland
- Luther facilitated the lay public's access to biblical truths by translating the Bible into the vernacular.
- Calvinists were the main people that progressed the iconoclastic movement and destroyed paintings and sculptures of holy figures.
- Protestants believed that one could connect with God through the act of intervening on the behalf of another (basically intercession).
- Protestants believed that faith was deeply personal. Protestant churches were relatively plain, while the Catholic churches were heavily decorated with artworks to facilitate prayer, the act of repentance, and becoming closer to God.
- 1540's: The Catholic and Counter-Reformations begin.
- Ignatius Loyola established the Jesuits, a holy order that was organized in a military fashion. Required absolute faith and obedience. Jesuits swore to suppress Protestantism.
- Artists during this time are turning to portraits, like Durer, and printmaking is allowing artists more recognized internationally. Artworks are commodities and gaining huge popularity.
- Johann Gutenberg (1400-1468) popularized the printing press. Originally invented in China but Gutenberg was the first to make interchangeable moveable metal type from lead molds.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ITALY & NORTHERN EUROPE
Oil Paint
The artists of the North invented oil paint! They use oil paint fifty years or more before they use it in Italy (where they use tempera until then). Think about what oil paint can do that fresco and tempera can not do! Keep this in mind as you look at the Merode Altarpiece. The Renaissance in Northern Europe is very different from the Renaissance in Italy. (SmartHistory)
3 reasons why oil paints are better:
a. Brighter colors
b. More details
c. Preservation is better
Classical Antiquity
The fact that we are far from Italy tells us something about the character of the Northern Renaissance. Remember that in Italy we said that the Renaissance was a rebirth of the art and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome? Well, in Northern Europe we're pretty far from the important centers of Ancient Greek and Roman culture, and so the Renaissance in the North is not a rebirth of Ancient Greek and Roman culture the way it was in Florence.
The artists of the North invented oil paint! They use oil paint fifty years or more before they use it in Italy (where they use tempera until then). Think about what oil paint can do that fresco and tempera can not do! Keep this in mind as you look at the Merode Altarpiece. The Renaissance in Northern Europe is very different from the Renaissance in Italy. (SmartHistory)
3 reasons why oil paints are better:
a. Brighter colors
b. More details
c. Preservation is better
Classical Antiquity
The fact that we are far from Italy tells us something about the character of the Northern Renaissance. Remember that in Italy we said that the Renaissance was a rebirth of the art and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome? Well, in Northern Europe we're pretty far from the important centers of Ancient Greek and Roman culture, and so the Renaissance in the North is not a rebirth of Ancient Greek and Roman culture the way it was in Florence.