Art in Focus

Chapter 17: Fifteenth-Century Art in Northern Europe

Lesson Summaries-English

          In northern Europe, cities grew, and a middle class emerged during the fifteenth century. Artists expressed the practical concerns of the new middle class while they continued to represent spiritual ideas.

Lesson 1
Renaissance Painting in Northern Europe

          During the fifteenth century in northern Europe, artists continued to refine the detailed International style of the Gothic period. Symbolism also became more important as a way to express ideas through everyday objects. Previously painters had used tempera, a paint made with dry pigments mixed with egg yolk. Now they began to use oil paints, pigments mixed with oils and turpentine. They could be used as transparent glazes that added new brilliance to colors. Since these paints took longer to dry, they allowed artists more time to work. The Flemish artist Robert Campin adopted this new medium and used familiar settings to depict religious stories. Another Flemish artist, Jan van Eyck, created paintings full of crystal-clear light where every object was rendered with absolute precision. In his painting The Arnolfini Wedding, he used various symbols, such as a single lit candle to indicate the presence of God.

Lesson 2
Realism and Emotionalism

          Eventually in northern Europe the realism of Jan van Eyck was combined with emotionalism and attention to design. The works of Rogier van der Weyden were still precisely detailed, but they also emphasized the emotional impact of his subject matter. In his Descent from the Cross, the figures are organized around two repeating curved axis lines. They are also grouped into a shallow space, forcing the viewer to focus on the drama of the scene. The faces and bodies of the figures are rendered to convey each person’s emotions. Van der Weyden also painted subtle portraits that conveyed the personalities of his subjects.

          Other artists were to follow van der Weyden in his concern for good design and vivid emotion. Hugo van der Goes altered space and proportions in order to increase the emotional appeal of his pictures. For example, in his Adoration of the Shepherds, he tipped the floor of the stable upward so the viewer becomes a full witness to the scene. Like van Eyck, van der Goes continued to use symbolism. He was also a master at conveying expressions on the faces of his figures. His art marks the end of a period, since new ideas from Renaissance Italy would soon change northern European art.