The document discusses several early Northern Renaissance artists including the Limbourg Brothers, Claus Sluter, Melchior Broderlam, Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Dirk Bout, Hugo van der Goes, and Hans Memling. It provides details on specific works such as the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry illuminated by the Limbourg Brothers, the Well of Moses sculpted by Claus Sluter, and the Ghent Altarpiece painted by Jan van Eyck. It also discusses characteristics of Northern Renaissance art including the use of oil paints to depict fine details and lifelike textures.

1. 1
ART 102 Gardners – Chapter (2) 20
Jean Thobaben
Instructor
The Early Renaissance
in Northern Europe and
Spain
NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
THE NORTHERN
RENAISSANCETHE RENAISSANCE
IN NORTHERN EUROPE
Flanders, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain
RENAISSANCE IN THE NORTH

2. 2
The Limbourg Brothers (ca. 1370-1416)
• The Limbourg brothers, Paul, Jean, and
Hermann, were a Netherlandish family of
manuscript illuminators.
• All three died in 1416, presumably of the
plague.
• In 1402 Paul & Jean were contracted to
illuminate a Bible for Philip the Bold, the
Duke of Burgundy.
• In 1404 Philip died and soon afterwards
the brothers transferred to the Duke's
brother, Jean, Duc de Berry.

3. 3
• In the service of the Duc de Berry they enjoyed
a privileged lifestyle, moving with the court as it
progressed around the Duke's many castles.
• Their two important works for the Duc are the
"Très Belles Heures" (Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York) finished by 1408 or 1409;
• and the "Très Riches Heures" (Musée Condé,
Chantilly), unfinished at the time of their deaths
and finished 70 years later by the French
illuminator Jean Colombe (1440-1493).
The Duc du Berry’s Book of Hour

4. 4
Belles Heures de Duc du Berry-
Folio 30- The Annunciation, 1408-
09, illuminated manuscript,
Metropolitan Museum of Art
at New York.

5. 5
Belles Heures de Duc
du Berry- Folio 54- The
Adoration of the Magi,
1408-09, illuminated
manuscript, Metropolitan
Museum of Art.

6. 6
Detail
Belles Heures de Duc du
Berry- Folio 138v- The
Way to Calvary, 1408-
09, illuminated
manuscript, Metropolitan
Museum of Art at New
York.

7. 7
Belles Heures de Duc du
Berry- Folio 218-
Heavenly Host, 1408-09,
illuminated manuscript,
Metropolitan Museum of
Art at New York

8. 8
• The "Très Riches Heures" with it's 12 beautiful
full page illuminations illustrating the months of the
year, and full of closely observed naturalistic
detail, is generally considered to be one of the
cardinal works of the
International Gothic style.
• The miniatures are remarkable, too, for their
mastery in rendering space, strongly suggesting
that one or more of the brothers had visited Italy,
and they occupy an important place in the
development of the northern traditions of
landscape and genre painting.

9. 9
February
• The Limbourg’s chose
a
winter scene to
represent this month,
often the coldest of the
year.
• They have painted it
with
extraordinary veracity,
rendering details with a
realism that captures
the
atmosphere of this
harsh season.

10. 10
• "C'est le mai, c'est le
mai, c'est le joli mois
de mai!“ ("It's May, it's
May, the beautiful
month of May!")
• As the song of old went,
so the figures of this
merry pageant seem to
be saying to one
another.
• On the first of May,
following a tradition
derived from the
floralia of antiquity,
young men used to
make a light-hearted

11. 11
Annunciation
• In the usual
sequence of a Book
of Hours, the cycle
of hours proper
followed the extracts
from the Gospel and
the two prayers to
the Virgin.
• Eight hours of the
day supplemented
the regular offices of
the church: matins,
lauds, prime, terce,
sext, nones, vespers,

12. 12
Claus Sluter (1350- 1406)
• Sluter (Dutch/French sculptor) executed a
large fountain the “Well of Moses” in the
Carthusian monastery (Chartreuse de
Champmol).
• The monastery was intended to be the burying
place of the Prince of Burgundy, Philip the
Bold and his family.

13. 13
• The hexagonal
base with the
figures of the
six prophets
who had
foreseen the
death of Christ
on the Cross
(Moses, David,
Jeremiah,
Zachariah, Daniel
and Isaiah)
survived.
Well of Moses, 1395-1406
Stone, height: 183 cm
Musée Archéologique, Dijon

14. 14
• Of all of those in
western art, this head
of Moses most
resembles that of
biblical tradition.
• Sluter's genius
explores the limits of
realism in the treatment
of facial expression, but
despite this realism, his
art has a deeply
moving human pathos,
and although it might
be termed
expressionistic, it
never degenerates into
caricature.

15. 15

16. 16
Well of Moses:
Prophets David and Jeremiah
1395-1406, Stone
Musée Archéologique,
Dijon

17. 17
Well of Moses: Angel
1395-1406
Stone
Musée Archéologique,
Dijon

18. 18
• The work of Claus Sluter for the Duke of
Burgundy in some sense marks a stylistic
change in sculpture at the end of the
fourteenth century.
• Sluter's main innovation lies in the degree
of emotive power with which he instilled his
figures, and his tendency to dramatize.
• The tomb of Philip The Bold is the only French
royal monument to survive complete. It was
begun in 1390 and it remained unfinished at
Sluter's death.
• On the side of the tomb-chest the famous
mourning Carthusian monks can be seen.

19. 19
• This is a mourner, from
the Tomb of Philip the Bold.
• The artist exploited the
expressive possibilities of
their voluminous woolen
robes, into whose folds he
carved the pathos of living
beings confronting death.
• Despite their small size the
mourners are works of
remarkable monumentality.
• No volume is without
function in the art of Sluter,
and the powerfully built
body beneath the rough
homespun is clearly
indicated.

20. 20
Melchior Broderlam (active 1387-1409)
• Philip the Bold also commissioned a major
altarpiece for the main altar in the chapel of the
Chartreuse.
• Broederlam painted both the outer panels and inner
polychrome decoration of at least two altarpieces
sculpted by Jacques de Baerze, that were intended
for the chartreuse de Champmol.
• Of these two altarpieces, only that in the Musée des
Beaux-Arts in Dijon still features its painted outer
panels.

21. 21on the left, The Annunciation and The Visitation; on the right,
The Presentation of Christ and The Flight into Egypt.
They represent 4 biblical scenes:

22. 22

23. 23
• The lily with four flowers in the
foreground is a well-established
symbol of virginity.
• Notice the angel bowing before
Mary, with his curly hair and
elegant figure, as if he were a
heavenly troubadour pledging
allegiance to his lady.
• Mary's ultramarine cloak and
her brocade dress of blue and
gold, with its details picked out
in red, are of the style which
was favored at that time by
ladies of the Burgundian court.
• It would seem that even the cut
of his figure's clothes,
Broederlam may have been

24. 24

25. 25
• This shows a
detail of the right
wing of the Dijon
Altarpiece.
• The Holy Family,
St Simeon and a
servant girl, who
carries a candle
in her right hand
and a basket
with two doves in
her left, all
gather round the
Christ Child.

26. 26
• The next picture shows a detail of the Flight
into Egypt on the right wing of the Dijon
Altarpiece.
• The Virgin is seen in profile, riding side-
saddle on a small donkey.
• She holds the baby Jesus pressed to her
cheek. He is wrapped in swaddling bands,
and she has drawn her large cloak up around
him. The child and his mother are looking at
each other.
• The heads of the Virgin and Child, unlike that
of Joseph, are both surrounded by a golden
halo.

27. 27
• In this detail of the Flight into Egypt, St
Joseph is leading the donkey by the
halter, while he pours drink into his
mouth from a small keg.
• He carries a stick over his left shoulder,
from which his coat and a small pot with
a ladle have been hung.
• He is wearing a hood and a surcoat held
in by a leather belt at the waist.
• He has slipped his purse under the belt,
and his leather boots seem to have
been worn out by the long journey he
has made on foot.
• He has a hooked nose, a curly beard
and bushy eyebrows.
• What really distinguished Broederlam's
Joseph however is the fact that he is the
only ordinary man in the whole

28. 28
Medieval Guilds
• The guilds were an important
part of city and town life.
• Guilds were exclusive, regimented
organizations, created in part to
preserve the rights and privileges
of members.
• A group of artisans engaged in the
same occupation, e.g., bakers,
cobblers, stone masons, etc. would
associate themselves together for
protection and mutual aid.
• As these craft associations became more important than
the older merchant guilds, their leaders began to demand
a sharein civic leadership.

29. 29
• Soon no one within a town
could practice a craft
without
belonging to the
appropriate
guild associations.
• The purpose of the guilds
was
to maintain a monopoly of
a
particular craft especially
against outsiders.
• In protecting its own
members,
the guilds protected the
buyer
as well preventing poor

30. 30
• The most important
processes
used in manufacturing
were
guarded.
• In Florence a worker who
possessed any essential
trade
secrets and for some
reason
fled to a foreign territory
must be
tracked down and killed
lest he
divulge the information.
• Monopoly existed within
individual guilds through
the
limitation of the number of

31. 31
Flanders - The Van Eyck brothers
• Jan van Eyck, the most famous and
innovative Flemish painter of the 15th
century, is thought to have come from the
village of Maaseyck in Limbourg.
• Van Eyck was credited traditionally with the
invention of painting in oils, and, although
this is incorrect, there is no doubt that he
perfected the technique.
• He used the oil medium to represent a
variety of subjects with striking realism in
microscopic detail; for example, he infused
painted jewels and precious metals with a
glowing inner light by means of subtle

32. 32
• The most famous work of Jan van Eyck is a
huge altarpiece with many scenes in the city
of Ghent.
• It is said to have been begun by Jan's elder
brother Hubert, of whom little is known, and
was completed by Jan in 1432.

33. 33
• An altarpiece is a carving, painting, sculpture,
screen or decorated wall made for a Christian
church altar, the table at which mass is said.
• They vary enormously in size from tiny portable
pictures to huge structures embracing
architecture, sculpture and painting.
• The center of the altarpiece features a depiction
of Christ, the Virgin Mary or a saint, with the
side panels generally showing scenes relating
to the life of the central figure.
• The backs of the side panels are almost always
painted, giving a finished aspect to the
altarpiece when closed.
• Sometimes panels are attached along the

34. 34
Central panel of the open altarpiece - Adoration of the Lamb.

35. 35

36. 36

37. 37
• The previous
views show
the altarpiece
open.
• This view
shows the
altarpiece
closed.

38. 38
The Ghent Altarpiece:
Angel of the Annunciation
1432Oil on wood, 164,8 x 71,7 cm
Cathedral of St Bavo, Ghent.
Jan van Eyck was among
the first European artists
to use
oil paints.

39. 39
The Ghent Altarpiece: Prophet Micheas;
Mary of the Annunciation
1432Oil on wood, 164,8 x 73 cm
Cathedral of St Bavo, Ghent
Flemish painters
built up their
paintings using
layers of translucent
paint layers called
glazes.

40. 40
• Rogier van der Weyden's fluid and dynamic
compositions stress human action and drama.
• With the possible exception of Jan van Eyck,
he was the
most influential northern European artist of his
time.
• His moving Deposition was part of a triptych
and shows
the figures and action compressed onto a
shallow stage.
• The group of figures is unified by a series of
Rogier van der Weyden (1400 –
1464)

41. 41
Lamentation (also Deposition or Pieta) – after
Jesus’ death, Joseph of Arimathea obtained
Pilate's permission to bury His body. The
closest people took the body from the cross,
washed it and buried in a new tomb, not yet
used for burial; and there, since it was the eve
of the Jewish Sabbath, they laid Jesus.
(John19:38-42).
Deposition, ca. 1435.
Tempera and oil on wood, 7'
3" x 8' 7". Museo del Prado,
Madrid.

42. 42
Deposition.
Mourning Woman.
Detail.

43. 43
• Rogier van der Weyden uses a
hierarchy of scale to distinguish the
relative importance of the figures
grouped to either side of Christ and the
archangel Michael in his largely
horizontal altarpiece of the Last
Judgment.

44. 44

45. 45
Last Judgment
Altarpiece (open),
detail, 1444–1448.
Panel, 7' 4 5/8" x 17'
11". Musée de
l'Hôtel-Dieu,
Beaune.

46. 46
• Dirk Bout's Altarpiece of the Holy
Sacrament uses a single vanishing point
for constructing an interior in which,
moreover, the scale of the figures' scale is
adjusted to correspond to the space they
occupy.
• In this central panel, a depiction of the Last
Supper Bouts presents Christ in the role of
a priest consecrating the Eucharistic wafer.
Dirk ( or Dieric) Bouts (d. 1475).

47. 47
Last Supper
(central panel of the Altarpiece
of the Holy Sacrament), Saint
Peter's, Louvain, Belgium, 1464–
1468. Tempera and oil on wood,
approx. 6' x 5'.
The real novelty
of this
extraordinary
painting lies in its
systematic
application of the
laws of
perspective.

48. 48
The picture shows the altarpiece in its frame.

49. 49
Hugo van der Goes (d. 1482)
• The large triptych known as the Portinari
Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes
shows the Adoration of the Shepherds
in the central panel.
• Additional meaning and significance is
conveyed through symbols.
• Although the figures vary in scale, they
are realistically portrayed and
characterized according to their social
level.

50. 50
the Portinari Altarpiece (open), ca. 1476. Oil on wood.
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

51. 51
• The central panel, The Adoration of the Shepherds,
shows two different scales in use, with the angels
strangely small in comparison to the rest of the
scene.
• This was a common device in medieval painting; it
makes it easy to spot the important characters.

52. 52
Right panel: The two large
figures of St. Margaret and
St. Mary Magdalene, who
appear in the right panel
are presenting Portinari's
wife, Maria, and their
daughter.
St. Margaret (patron saint
of childbirth) can be
identified by the fact that
she is standing on a
dragon. According to
legend, she was
swallowed by a monster,
but burst out of it.
Mary Magdalene carries

53. 53
Left panel:
Tommaso Portinari
with his Children and
Saints Thomas and
Anthony Abbott

54. 54
Hans Memling (1440-1494)
• Many of Memling's well-known religious
works were painted for the Hospital of St.
John in Brugge.
• These include Adoration of the Magi and
six panels depicting St. Ursula's journey to
Rome, which he painted for the hospital's
shrine to that saint.
• His balanced, technically refined, and
opulently painted composition of the Virgin
with Saints and Angels (the central panel
of the Saint John Altarpiece) shows,
typically, a slightly built, pretty, serene

55. 55
•The symbolic gesture whereby Jesus places a wedding ring on
the finger of St Catherine of Alexandria caused this altarpiece to
be identified for many years as the Mystic marriage of St
Catherine.

56. 56
The central
panel focuses
upon a Sacra
Conversazione
, a gathering of
saints around
the Virgin. The
narrow vertical
openings
between the
columns reveal
a continuous
landscape with
ruins and
buildings in
which small
episodes from
the lives of the

57. 57
The two wings each depict
episodes from the lives of the
standing figures of the two St
Johns on either side of the
Virgin.
The left wing features the
Beheading of St John the
Baptist.

58. 58
The right wing:
St John the
Evangelist
on the Island of
Patmos.
In addition to these
realistic portrayals,
the carved groups on
the two capitals
above each saint
also depict key
moments from their
lives.

59. 59
Private Devotional Imagery
• Individuals demonstrated piety by
commissioning artworks for private
devotional use in the home.
• Personal devotion was advocated by
popular reform movements and served to
link religious and secular concerns.
• Religious scenes in paintings were often
presented as if taking place in the familiar
setting of a Flemish house.

60. 60
MASTER of Flémalle (1375- 1444)
• Believed to be Robert Campin, the Mérode
Altarpiece was commissioned for private use.
• The central panel shows the Annunciation taking
place in a well-kept, middle-class Flemish home.
Familiar accessories, furniture, and utensils,
however, also function as religious symbols.
• An Annunciation illustrates the moment when the
archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that
she has been chosen by God to be the mother of
Christ.
the Mérode Altarpiece (open), ca. 1425-1428. Tempera and oil on wood, center panel approx.
25" x 25". Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

61. 61
Campin
was
essentially
guided in
his choice
of objects
by the
symbolic
needs of the
story.
The brass
laver, for
example,
signifies
Mary's
purity, as
does the

62. 62
• The right wing depicts Joseph at work in his
carpenter's shop.
• The objects in Joseph's workshop are chosen
so as to symbolically prefigure the Passion:
• the sword-shaped saw in the foreground
alludes to the weapon that St Peter would use
to cut off Malchus' ear while Christ was being
arrested;
• the log that lies nearby recalls the wood of the
cross;
• the stick propped against it, of the crown of
thorns;
• nails, hammers, pliers and screwdrivers all

63. 63
• The mousetrap which
Joseph is making may
be a reference either to
Christ's arrest (the
mouse being
associated, in popular
tradition, with the soul)
or to the Augustinian
doctrine that the
Virgin's marriage and
Christ's Incarnation
were planned by
Providence as a trap in
which to catch the
devil, like a mouse
lured by a bait.

64. 64
• In Jan van Eyck's
skillfully painted
double portrait,
Giovanni
Arnolfini and His
Bride, the couple
stand in a Flemish
bedchamber in
which almost
every object also
serves a symbolic
function.
• The painting may
have served as a
record of their
marriage.
Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride,
1434. Tempera and oil on wood,
approx. 32" x 23 1/2".
National Gallery, London.

65. 65
Van Eyck serves as a witness
to the event with his signature
on the wall of the room.
Subtle touches like this rare,
imported orange on the
windowsill attest to the wealth
and status of Giovanni
Arnolfini.

66. 66
Petrus Christus ( 1415-1473)
• Christus was probably apprenticed to Jan van Eyck.
• His paintings, reflect a synthesis of the spatial and
volumetric advances of van Eyck and the emotionalism
of Rogier van der Weyden.
• He furthered van Eyck's interest in visual literalism by
his experiments with linear perspective.
• The Legend of Saint Eligius depicts a goldsmith
showing a selection of rings to an elegantly dressed
young couple.
• Possibly commissioned by the goldsmiths' guild in
Bruges, the painting may show Saint Eligius, the patron
saint of gold- and silversmiths, blacksmiths, and
metalworkers.

67. 67
Legend of Saint
Eligius,
1449.
Tempera and
oil on wood,
approx.
39" x 34".
Metropolitan
Museum of Art,
New York .

68. 68
Portraiture
• Private portraits began to
multiply as artists and
patrons became interested
in the reality they revealed.
• As they objectified
themselves as
people, the otherworldliness
of the middle ages began to
fade away.
• Patrons embraced the
opportunity
to have their likenesses
painted for various reasons:
• To establish their identities,
ranks and stations or evenAmbrosius Holbein, Portrait of a Young Man, 1518 , Tempera on panel; 44 x 32.5 cm

69. 69
Man in a Red Turban,
Jan van Eyck1433. Tempera and oil
on wood, approx. 10 1/4" x 71/2“,
the National Gallery,London.
•This may be a
self portrait.
•Red turbans were an
artistic affectation
during the
Renaissance.

70. 70
• Rogier van der
Weyden's honest
and direct portrait
of an unknown
young woman is a
faithful likeness that
also reveals her
individual
character.
• It is composed in
large, simple
planes and
volumes.
Portrait of a Lady, ca. 1460.
Oil on wood, 141/2" x 103/4".
National Gallery, Washington, D.C.

71. 71
• In this next portrait by
an unknown artist, we
see Isabella of
Portugal who was born
in 1397 and married
Duke Philip the Good,
becoming duchess of
Burgundy, in 1429.
• This is one of several
versions of Isabella's
portrait, produced
around 1450 when
she was fifty-three.
• She is shown wearing
gold brocade and a
hat encrusted with
jewels—a style of
dress that
corresponds to mid-
fifteenth-century
fashion
• The near-profile pose,
though uncommon in
the Netherlands
around this time,
allowed the
anonymous painter to
convey a convincing
yet elegant image ofPortrait of a Noblewoman, Probably Isabella of Portugal (1397–1472),
mid-15th century, Netherlandish Painter, Oil on wood; Overall 13 5/8 x 10 5/8 in.

72. 72
• Among the
masterpieces of
Northern Renaissance
art, these next portraits
of the Portinari couple
were probably
commissioned upon
the couple's marriage
in 1470, when Maria
was about fourteen
and Tommaso about
thirty-eight.
• The panels were
originally the wings of
a portable triptych
flanking an image of
• The portraits
reflect the
admiration of
Italian patrons
for
Netherlandish
art, especially
works of such
devotional
character.
Tommaso di Folco Portinari
(1428–1501); Maria Portinari
(Maria Maddalena Baroncelli,
1456–1495), probably
1470,Hans Memling,Oil on wood .

73. 73
Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516)
• Bosch is known for his enigmatic panels
illustrating complex religious subjects with
fantastic, often demonic imagery.
• Scholars differ in their interpretation of Bosch's
art, but most agree that his pictures show a
preoccupation with the human propensity for
sin in defiance of God, as well as with God's
eternal damnation of lost souls in hell as a
fateful consequence of human folly.
• Stylistically, Bosch worked in a manner called
alla prima, a method of applying paint freely on
a preliminary ground of brownish paint.

74. 74
• Bosch's most famous and
unconventional picture is The
Garden of Earthly Delights c.1500
which, like most of his other
ambitious works, is a large, 3-part
altarpiece, called a triptych.
• This painting was probably made
for the private enjoyment of a noble
family.
• Beginning on the outside shutters
with the creation of the world, the
story progresses…

75. 75
• from Adam
and Eve and
original sin on
the left panel
…

76. 76
………….to the
torments of hell,
a dark, icy, yet
fiery nightmarish
vision, on the
right.
• In reference to
astrological
alignments at the
time this was
painted, a lot of
the instruments
of torture are
also musical
instruments.

77. 77
• The Garden of Delights in the
central panel illustrates a world
deeply engaged in sinful pleasures.
• the luscious garden is filled with
cavorting nudes and giant birds and
fruit.

78. 78

79. 79
• Scholars differ in
their interpretation
of Bosch's art, but
most agree that his
pictures show a
preoccupation with
the human
propensity for sin in
defiance of God, as
well as with God's
eternal damnation
of lost souls in hell
as a fateful
consequence of
human folly.
The Last Judgement, central panel of
the Last Judgement triptych, oil on
panel, Akademie der
bildenden Künste, Vienna.

80. 80

81. 81
• Although Bosch’s
visions are more
famous, he was not
the only artist to
portrey visions of
hell and
punishment.
• Jan van Eyck’s
The Last Judgment is
organized
hieratically in three
tiers, with the scale
of the figures
manipulated to
The biblical texts on
the original frames
are given form in the
pictures with
remarkable
literalness,
establishing a play
between word and
image that would
have been admired
by contemporaries.
The upper half of
The Last Judgment
was painted in part
by an assistant.
The Crucifixion; The Last
Judgment, ca. 1430
Jan van Eyck and Assistant ,Oil
on canvas, transferred
from wood; Each 22 1/4 x 7 ¾”

82. 82
15th Century French Art
• The hundred years war broke up France
into a group of “Duchies” (Regions
controlled by Dukes).
• French artists aligned themselves with the
wealthiest nobles .
• Such patrons included the Dukes of
Berry, Bourbon and Nemours as well as
the royal court where they could develop
their art.

83. 83
• French art in the 15th
century shows a similar
interest in a humanized
realism in portraiture.
• Jean Fouquet painted this
portrait of Étienne
Chevalier with his patron
saint, Saint Stephen, in a
format known as a donor
portrait.
• The portrait of the kneeling
donor is evidence of
devotion.
Jean Fouquet, Étienne
Chevalier and Saint
Stephen (from a diptych
now divided), ca. 1450.
Tempera on wood, 36
1/2" x 33 1/2".
Gemäldegalerie,
Staatliche Museen,
Berlin-Dahlem.

84. 84
• Throughout the 15th century, lavishly illuminated
manuscripts were highly prized items, and important
books were frequently given as diplomatic gifts, or to
celebrate dynastic marriages.
• A number of artists, such as Jean Fouquet, who
was employed at the French court, worked both in
books and on panel.
• This required a different approach, for illuminators
worked in egg tempera on parchment, in contrast to
the oil medium used by panel painters.
• Fouquet’s miniature The Right Hand of God
Protecting the Faithful against Demons (1452–60),
which contains an accurate view of contemporary
Paris, demonstrates his extraordinary ability to infuse
miniature paintings with a striking sense of breadth,

85. 85
• The Hours of Étienne
Chevalier is one of the
most famous and
lavishly illuminated
manuscripts of the
fifteenth century.
• The miniature
decorates the page
that contains the
opening words of the
evening prayer
(vespers) for the Hours
of the Holy Spirit.
• It shows the faithful
standing in the
foreground on a
• The subject is highly
unusual, as is the
topographically
accurate depiction of
medieval Paris, in
which the Cathedral
of Notre-Dame, the
spire of Saint-
Chapelle, the Pont
Saint-Michel, and
other monuments
are immediately
recognizable.
Leaf from the Hours of Étienne
Chevalier: The Right Hand of God
Protecting the Faithful against
Demons, ca. 1452–60.Tempera and
gold leaf on parchment;
7 5/8 x 5 3/4 in.

86. 86
• Despite the escalating
popularity of printed
books in the 16th century,
many of Europe's rulers
and aristocrats continued
to commission books of
hours for private
devotion.
• In an Adoration of the Magi
of about 1520, the
powerful illusion of spatial
depth and vivid re-
creation of the long
journey of the magi were
intended to sustain
continued viewing and
private meditation.
• This striking miniature is
one a pair of leaves of
identical size that were
probably detached from
an early sixteenth-
century book of hours.
• In addition to its subtle
modeling and color, the
image is distinguished
by a sophisticated
spatial design, through
which the main section
appears to be
superimposed upon the
background that unfolds
in a continuous
landscape.Adoration of the Magi, ca. 1520
Attributed to Master of James IV of
ScotlandInk and tempera
on vellum; 6 5/8 x 4 4/5 in

87. 87
• Jean Clouet, who
came from a family
of Franco-Flemish
painters, was
appointed painter-in-
ordinary to King
Francis I about 1516
and rose to chief
painter a few years
later.
• His son François
eventually
succeeded him as
• Jean Clouet's
elegant yet
formalized
portrait of
Francis I shows
the king as
worldly, suave,
and confident.
Jean Clouet. Portrait of Francis I.
c. 1520-25. Oil on wood.
Louvre, Paris, France

88. 88
This portrait depicts
a leading humanist
of sixteenth-century
France, Guillaume
Budé (1467–1540)
acted as librarian to
Francis I and was
responsible for the
founding of the
library at
Fontainebleau.
He was also an
ambassador, the
chief magistrate of
Paris, and the
founder, in 1530, of
the Collège de
Guillaume Budé, ca. 1536
Jean Clouet ,Tempera
and oil on wood; 15 5/8 x 13 ½”

89. 89
• In panel painting, The Avignon Pieta
(attributed to Enguerrand Quarton;
ca.1410-1466) can be compared to van
der Weyden’s Deposition although the
palette is much more subdued.
The Avignon Pietà, attributed to Enguerrand Quarton (Charonton),
ca. 1455. Tempera on wood, approx. 5' 4" x 7' 2". Louvre, Paris.

90. 90
• In a similar panel,
we see Joseph of
Arimathea and
Nicodemus placing
the body of Christ
across the lap of the
Virgin, while Saint
John the Evangelist,
Mary Magdalene,
and a female
companion express
grief with restrained
gestures.
The Lamentation, recto and verso, early
1470s, Simon Marmion (French, active
by 1449, died 1489),
Oil and tempera(?)
on oak panel; 20 3/8 x 12 7/8 in.
The modest size
and devotional
character of the
painting reflect the
Burgundian duke's
use of art for
religious and,
possibly, private
purposes.

91. 91
• As court sculptor in
Dijon, the influential
artist
Claus de Werve
(active 1396–ca. 1439)
created many works
for his patrons, and
this next Virgin and
Child is certainly one
of his masterpieces.
• Its original location in
the convent is
unknown, but the
sculpture was probably
installed in the area
• In this tender
portrayal,
Mary's role as a
personification
of Wisdom is
evoked by the
open book on
Christ's lap.
Virgin and Child, ca. 1420
Attributed to Claus de Werve
French; Made in Poligny,
Burgundy, Limestone,
polychromy, gilding;
53 3/8 x 41 1/8 in.

92. 92
15th Century German Art
• German art in the 15th century comprises
several provincial artistic styles that rely largely
on established medieval pictorial conventions.
• In the absence of a court culture, artworks were
commissioned by the middle class, wealthy
merchants, and the clergy.
• Large carved wooden altarpieces (retables)
express the intense piety and emotionalism of
late gothic culture.
• German printmakers show great technical skill in
the production of woodcuts and engravings.

93. 93
• Stephan Lochner's
Madonna in the
Rose Garden uses
stylized conventions
in his depiction of
the Virgin Mary and
Christ Child in a
rose arbor.
• The composition is
symmetrical, very
structured, and
employs
a gold background.ca. 1430-1435. Tempera on wood,
approx. 20" x 16". Wallraf-Richartz
Museum, Cologne.

94. 94
• In his Madonna
and Child in a
Rose Arbor,
Martin
Schongauer
gives his figures
physical
substance.
1473, Panel, 78 3/4" x 45 1/4“,
Saint Martin church,
Colmar,

95. 95
• The Altarpiece of Saint Peter includes the
Miraculous Draught of Fish, in which
Konrad Witz gives prominence to the
landscape.
• Due to Witz's accuracy in depicting it, the
landscape has been identified as a view of
the shores of Lake Geneva.
• This is one of the first 15th-century
paintings to depict a specific site.
Miraculous Draught of Fish, Tempera on wood, approx. 51" x 61".
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva.

96. 96
Veit Stoss (1450 -1533)
• German Gothic sculptor, born in Swabia,
and trained in art in Nuremberg. Stoss
executed the spectacular high altar for
Saint Mary's Church in Kraków, Poland,
between 1477 and 1489, and the sculptured
red marble tomb of King Casimir IV of
Poland, in the cathedral of Kraków in 1492.
• The sculptures of Stoss are renowned for
their dramatic realism.
• Although Gothic in style, they also contain
Renaissance elements.

97. 97
• Veit Stoss's
minutely detailed
carved wooden
altar in the church
of Saint Mary in
Kraków, Poland,
expresses the
intense piety of
Gothic culture in
its late phase.
triptych of The Death and
Assumption of the Virgin (wings
open), from the altar of the Virgin
Mary, Saint Mary church, Kraków,
Poland, 1477–1489. Painted and
gilded wood, 43' x 35'.

98. 98
In the central panel of
the high altar, the
Virgin's death and her
reunion with her Son,
are conceived as so
closely related that
Stoss has depicted
Mary upright, tenderly
supported by a
gigantic apostle, as
she falls asleep.
Some of the other
apostles bend their
glance on her with
grave concern, while
yet others lift their

99. 99
This is a detail of
the Adoration of
Magi, lower left
scene of the open
High Altar of St
Mary in the
Church of St Mary
in Cracow.

100. 100
Tilman Riemenschneider (1460- 1531)
• A German sculptor, active in Würzburg,
where he is first recorded in 1483.
• With Stoss, he was the outstanding
German late Gothic sculptor, and his
workshop was large and productive.
• He was primarily a woodcarver (he was the
first German sculptor to leave the wood
unpainted), but he also worked in stone.
• His style was intricate, but also balanced and
harmonious, with none of the extreme
emotionalism often seen in German art of the
period.

101. 101
• One of his
masterpieces is the
Altar of the Virgin
(1501) which
combines relief
carvings illustrating
the life of the Virgin
with a central
sculptural
representation of the
Assumption.
• The solid, broad
forms of some of his
late work indicate the
possible influence of
Italian Renaissance
sculpture, which was

102. 102
• In this work, while
realism dictated
the treatment of
the heads and
hands, the drapery
takes on an
artificiality and
stylization, folded
and pleated in a
totally unnatural, if
decorative
manner.Assumption of the Virgin (detail),
1505-10, Limewood
Herrgottskirche,
Creglingen-am-Tauber

103. 103
• This next relief is a detail of the Holy Blood
altarpiece composed between 1499-1505. It is
interesting to note that quite unusually the figure in
the center is Judas and not Christ.
• The stylistic vocabulary of Riemenschneider is easy
to characterize.
• The masculine faces, built on the same plan, with, of
course, thicker and more rugged features, present
some distinct types found in many combinations.
• The play of draperies, animated by uneven folds
broken into multiple facets, is complicated but without
excessive agitation.
• The calm features, delicate gestures and tranquil
attitudes show a melancholy sweetness even when
emotion or pain are expressed.

104. 104
• Riemenschneider favored the
acceptance of the Renaissance
style, and without directly
copying the Italians he yet
moved closer to them, starting
from specifically German
elements.
• His feminine figures, all have a
slender stature - narrow bust,
frail limbs, fine hands - hair set in
peaceful waves, a sweet face
with eyes slanted towards the
temples, a long nose and small
mouth.
Eve, 1491-93, Wood
Marienkirche, Würzburg

105. 105
• In addition to large
scale projects,
Northern artists were
skillful carvers of
smaller pieces for
private patrons.
• Rosary beads,
miniature altars, and
other small
devotional objects
produced in Brabant
inspire awe by the
detail and
minuteness of their
carving.
• Produced in
relatively large
numbers, these
rosary beads were
carved of many
pieces of fine-
grained boxwood
that were then
fitted together,
presumably with
the aid of a
magnifying glass.
Rosary Bead, early 16th century
South Lowlands (Brabant)
Boxwood; Diam. 2 1/16 in.

106. 106
The Graphic Arts in the North
• A new age arrived in the North with the
invention of the first printing presses.
(Johannes Gutenberg)
• Printmaking provided new and challenging
media for artists – the earliest from the
woodblock or woodcut print.
• Artists had made woodcuts previously but with
the popularity of books mass production came
into being.

107. 107
The Nuremberg Chronicle
• More than 650 illustrations were produced
for the Nuremberg Chronicle (a history of
the world) produced in the workshop of
Michael Wolmegut (1434-1519).
• The printing was carried out under the
supervision of the scholar-printer Anton
Koberger.

108. 108
• Eve nursing Cain
and Abel, from the
richest illustrated
Incunabla, the
famous: "Nuremberg
Chronicle",
published the year
that Columbus
returned to Europe
after discovering
America.
• The block cutters
were Michael
Wolgemut, and
his stepson
Wilhelm

109. 109
• Woodcut was still a young medium when printers
began the technique of engraving (scratching into
metal plates).
• Engraving began to replace woodcut both in book
illustrations and in single art prints.
• Metal engraving produces an intaglio (incised)
surface taking the ink.
• It is the reverse of woodcut which produces relief
(rilievo).
Intaglio and Relief Printing

110. 110
In his engraving
of Saint
Anthony
Tormented by
Demons, Martin
Schongauer
shows
considerable
skill and subtlety
in distinguishing
tonal values and
textures.
Saint Anthony Tormented
by Demons, ca. 1480–
1490. Engraving, approx.
13" x 11". Metropolitan
Museum of Art,
New York

111. 111
The Road to Calvary, detail,
engraving, Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York

112. 112
• In Saint Paul Led Away to Damascus,
Lucas van Leyden, depicts a busy
horizontal procession, in front of a peculiar
rocky outcropping and under a partially
defined sky, full of exotic gesticulating
figures who animatedly discuss the event.
• In a tiny vignette in the left background,
Lucas depicted the dramatic moment when
Saul of Tarsus (Saint Paul), on a journey to
Damascus to arrest the followers of Christ,
is confronted by God, who strikes him blind.
Saint Paul Led Away to Damascus, 1509, Lucas van Leyden, Engraving, 11 1/8 x 16 in.

113. 113
15th Century Spanish Art
• Spain emerged as a power in
Europe in the second half of the 15th
century.
• Spanish 15th-century art is notable for
retables carved with emotionally
expressive figures that embody the
psychic intensity of medieval
spirituality.

114. 114
• This is the left-hand
portion of an important
altarpiece, or retablo,
probably painted by
Alcañiz in the 1420s
for a side chapel in the
Church of San Juan
del Hospital in
Valencia.
• Miguel Alcañiz
(active by 1408, died after
1447)
was a leading exponent
of the International
Style in Spain.
• Given the presence in
the altarpiece of saints
Giles and Vincent, the
patron was certainly
Vincent Gil.
Saint Giles with Christ Triumphant over
Satan and the Mission of the Apostles,
1420s, Tempera on wood,
gold ground; Overall 59 5/8 x 39 1/2 in.

115. 115
• This leaf comes
from a magnificent
two-volume Qur’an.
• The line of gold
maghribi script at
the top is the
chapter, or sura,
heading.
• The medallion in the
left margin contains
a brilliantly
conceived two-layer
vegetal pattern.
• In Qur’ans
from the early
Islamic
period, such
medallions
took the form
of palmettes,
but by the
time this
Qur’an was
copied, this
pattern had
assumed a
preeminent
position in the
ornamental
Leaf from a Qur’an manuscript, 13th–14th century, Spain, Ink,
colors, and gold on vellum; 21 1/16 x 22 in.

116. 116
• This silk textile
fragment, of which
the full loom width
(hung vertically) is
preserved, displays
two scripts.
• The knotted kufic
inscription woven in
black repeats the
word beatitude and
runs on a wide red-
ground border.
• The decorative
calligraphy is in
harmony with the
geometric design of
the fabric.
• The overall geometric
design of the textile has
close connections with
architectural decoration,
especially the stuccowork
and wall tiles of Nasrid
buildings.
• Similar woven textiles
continued to be produced
under Christian patronage
after the fall of the Nasrid
kingdom in 1492, testifying
to their aesthetic appeal
for Christians as well as
Muslims.
Textile fragment, 14th century; Nasrid
Spain, Silk, lampas weave; 40 1/8 x 14 1/4 in.

117. 117
Gil de Siloe (d. 1501)
• Isabel the Catholic commissioned from Gil de
Siloe, a native of northern Europe, French,
Flemish or German origin, the great altarpiece in
the Carthusian monastery at Miraflores
• The polychromy and some figures are the work
of Diego de la Cruz, part of the gold brought
back by Columbus in his second voyage to
America.
• The altarpiece, a symbol of the Eucharist, is
constructed round a great centrally-placed circle,
radiating like a rose window in a Gothic
cathedral.
• The allover ornament is consistent with the
expressionistic style of the sculptures, which

118. 118
Main Altar, 1496-99
Wood, Monastery of
Miraflores,
Burgos

119. 119
• This detail, one of the artistic carvings decorating the
great altarpiece, represents the Last Supper.

120. 120
• In 1486, Isabel of Castile, patroness of the
explorer Christopher Columbus,
commissioned an elaborate alabaster tomb
for her parents, Juan II of Castile and Isabel of
Portugal.
• This star-shaped tomb, still standing in the
center of the church of the Carthusian
monastery of Miraflores, outside Burgos, was
made between 1489 and 1493.

121. 121
• This statuette of the
patron saint of Spain is
known from old
photographs to have
been originally placed
near the head of the
queen.
• The soft, translucent
quality of alabaster
provides an ideal
medium for the artist's
penchant for beautifully
articulated drapery folds
and facial details, which
still bear traces of gilding
and paint.
• Saint James is
portrayed here as a
pilgrim: a person who
makes a journey to a
sacred place as a holy
act.
• As a traveler, he is
shown well equipped
with a staff, purse,
water gourd, and
traveler's hat, whose
upturned brim is
adorned with a
cockleshell, the
emblem of his shrine at
Santiago de
Saint James the Greater, ca. 1489–1493,
Alabaster, gold, polychromy;
H. 18 1/16 in. The Cloisters Collection

122. 122
Summary:
• Both Northern and Spanish art in the 15th
century was the product of political, religious,
social and economic changes.
• Generally, artists in Flanders, France,
Germany, and Spain were less interested in
the classical past than artists in Italy.
• One aspect of the new taste in art is the
increasing integration of religious and secular
themes.
• In the Duc de Berry’s Book of Hours, the
Limbourg Brothers include calendar pictures
with the 12 months represented in terms of the
associated seasonal tasks.

123. 123
• For a cloister Claus Sluter designed a large
sculptural fountain located in a well which
served as a symbolic fountain of life.
• The exactitude found in the work of Jan van
Eyck and others was facilitated by the use of oil
paint that allowed painters to build up their
pictures by superimposing translucent paint
layers (glazes) on a layer of underpainting.
• Rogier van der Weyden's fluid and dynamic
compositions stress human action and drama.
• The Mérode Altarpiece shows the Annunciation
taking place in a well-kept, middle-class Flemish
home. Familiar accessories, furniture, and
utensils, however, also function as religious
symbols.

124. 124
• Rogier van der Weyden's honest and direct
portrait of an unknown young woman is a
faithful likeness that also reveals her
individual character.
• Jean Fouquet painted the portrait of Étienne
Chevalier with his patron saint, Saint Stephen,
in a format known as a donor portrait.
• Konrad Witz gives prominence to the
landscape inone of the first 15th-century
paintings to depict a specific site.
• Michel Wolgemut used woodblock prints to
illustrate the so-called Nuremberg Chronicle.
• In his engraving of Saint Anthony Tormented by
Demons, Martin Schongauer shows
considerable skill and subtlety in

125. 125
Links:
• Art Lex- Northern Renaissance
• Netherlands (The Hermitage)
• The Louvre (Paris)
• Northern European Painting 15th-16th
C.
(The National Gallery Washington)
• The British Museum (Compass)
• PMA- Leaves of Gold Exhibition