Northern Renaissance Art Guide: 8 Influential Painters

The Northern Renaissance was an art movement that occurred in Northern Europe during the fifteen and sixteenth centuries, overlapping with the Italian Renaissance. Its reach included the present day Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, and England. Though early Northern Renaissance painters like Jan van Eyck created religious iconography, the Protestant Reformation and a weakening of the Catholic Church in Northern Europe led to an increase in the production of secular art. Northern Renaissance painters were often influenced by Italian techniques, including oil on canvas as a medium.

After the Black Plague upended society, the social order of Northern Europe began to transform in the early fifteenth century.

• Origins of the Northern Renaissance: In the mid-1400s, the Northern Renaissance rose from the ashes of the Middle Ages, an era which was dominated by strict religious guidelines, tempura-based painting, and a system of Feudalism that discouraged innovation.
• Emergence of Jan van Eyck: Through works like The Annunciation, The Arnolfini Portrait, and the Ghent Altarpiece (created in collaboration with his brother Hubert van Eyck), Jan van Eyck’s portraiture pushed boundaries in coloration and linear perspective while adhering to the religious themes of the Middle Ages.
• Impact of the Protestant Reformation: In the mid-1500s, proponents of the Reformation (including German theologian Martin Luther) asserted that faith alone was at the core of Christianity, which helped loosen the tight strictures of the Roman Catholic Church in all aspects of life—even visual art. Sixteenth century painters like Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder pushed boundaries even further, creating works that bordered on surrealism.
• Influence of Italian High Renaissance: German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer made several trips to Italy, where he was inspired by artists of the Italian High Renaissance, including Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Giovanni Bellini. Dürer brought their techniques to Northern Europe, along with their enthusiastic embrace of Classical antiquity.

The art of the Northern Renaissance tends to feature several defining characteristics.

1. 1. Symbolism: Most notably associated with Jan van Eyck, symbolism merges the iconography of the Middle Ages with the more progressive themes of the Renaissance. It appears in paintings and illuminated manuscripts of the era.
2. 2. Embrace of realism: The art of the Middle Ages was often flat and two-dimensional with muted colors. During the Northern Renaissance, advances in linear perspective, illumination, and coloration allowed a wholehearted embrace of realism.
3. 3. Depictions of natural light: Through the use of oil paint, Northern Renaissance artists depicted illumination in ways that tempura-based paints could not accommodate.
4. 4. Emphasis on altarpieces: While Northern Renaissance art appeared in many forms, the altarpiece was a popular style—particularly as a tryptic.
5. 5. Bold coloration: Oil-based pigments allowed for far more vivid colors than could be found in prior eras.

The works of Northern Renaissance artists can be widely viewed in galleries like New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, London's National Gallery, Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, and Paris's Musée du Louvre. Among the most prominent of these Northern painters are:

1. 1. Jan van Eyck: Considered the first master of the Northern Renaissance, van Eyck upended notions of color, perspective, texture, and symbolism in works like The Arnolfini Portrait, Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele, The Annunciation, and the Ghent Altarpiece. He is considered among the first artists in a subgenre called Early Netherlandish.
2. 2. Rogier van der Weyden: An Early Netherlandish artist who adhered more to religious triptychs than his contemporary van Eyck.
3. 3. Hans Holbein the Elder: German Holbein the Elder combined van Eyck's innovations in lighting and color with conservative religious imagery.
4. 4. Hans Holbein the Younger: Holbein the Younger combined his father's talent with greater ambition, which led to his reputation as one of the great portraiture arts of the Northern Renaissance. He is known for his time in England, where he became a contemporary of Sir Thomas More, and created works including Portrait of Henry VIII and Portrait of Edward VI as a Child.
5. 5. Lucas Cranach the Elder: A close friend of Martin Luther, Cranach's artistic style evoluted in tandem with the Protestant Reformation.
6. 6. Hieronymus Bosch: Like van Eyck and van der Weyden, Bosch hailed from a subset of the Northern Renaissance called the Early Netherlandish painting school. He is famous for altarpiece triptychs, particularly the surreal and alarming Garden of Earthly Delights.
7. 7. Pieter Bruegel the Elder: A Netherlandish artist who approached Bosch's surrealism, Bruegel also painted community events, religious scenes, and humorous snapshots. Unlike many of his era, he refrained from portraiture.
8. 8. Albrecht Dürer: Compared to other Northern Renaissance painters, the German Dürer was relatively conservative in his subject matter. He mostly depicted Biblical scenes, such as Feast of the Rosary and Christ among the Doctors.

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