Early Netherlandish painting

The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, National Gallery, London.

Early Netherlandish painting^[1] is the work of those painters who were active in the Low Countries during the 15th and early 16th century Northern renaissance, especially in the flourishing cities of Bruges and Ghent. It begins approximately with the career of Jan van Eyck, who was already championed as the "new Apelles" of northern European painting by Karel van Mander at the turn of the 17th century, and ends with Gerard David around 1520.

The period corresponds to the early and high Italian Renaissance, but it is seen as an independent artistic culture from the Renaissance humanism that characterises simultaneous developments in central Italy.^[2] Because Early Netherlandish painters embody both the culmination of Mediaeval artistic heritage in northern Europe and respond to Renaissance ideals, their art is categorized as belonging to both the Early Renaissance and the Late Gothic.

The painting of the period made significant advances in illusionism, following the highly detailed works of Jan van Eyck, and often features complex iconography. Subjects are mostly iconic religious scenes or small portraits; narrative painting is far rarer than in Italy, as are mythological figures.

Designation

"The Ghent Altarpiece: The Adoration of the Lamb" shows how important medieval elements still are.

Early Netherlandish painting and painters are known in a variety of ways, with Late Gothic and the Flemish Primitives remaining other common designations. Some art historians also use the term Ars nova ("new art"), which has its source in music history. "Late Gothic", for instance, emphasizes the continuity with the Middle Ages.^[2] "Flemish Primitives", on the other hand, is a traditional art historical term that came into fashion in the 19th century and is still a primary label in other languages such as Dutch, Spanish and French (from which it originally came into English). "Primitives" in this case, does not refer to a lack of sophistication; instead, it identifies the artists as the origin of a new tradition in painting, one noted, for example, with the use of oil paint, instead of tempera. Following the lead of Max Jakob Friedländer, Erwin Panofsky, Otto Pächt, and other German language scholarship, however, English-language art historians more generally discuss the period as "Early Netherlandish painting" (German: Altniederländische Malerei).

During the 15th to mid 16th centuries the modern national borders of France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands did not exist. Flanders, which now specifically refers to distinct parts of Belgium, and other areas of the region were under the control of the Dukes of Burgundy and, later, the Habsburg dynasty. Because Bruges and Ghent—both Flemish cities—were the main centres of international banking, trade, and art in the region, painters and merchants, not all of whom were actually locally-born, congregated in them. Consequently, Flemish and Netherlandish (that is, "of the Low Countries") became interchangeable terms based on the location of the dominant cities.^[3] Moreover, art historians often include the artistic traditions of Cologne and other Lower Rhine centres within the same context, or note that painters like Geertgen tot Sint Jans were active in the northern Netherlands and not Flanders. A further point of contention, one that still poses issues in Belgium, are the linguistically-French origins of many painters, such as Rogier van der Weyden.^[4] The German Hans Memling and the Estonian Michael Sittow are examples of immigrant artists who worked in the Netherlands in a fully Netherlandish style. The use of the term "Early Netherlandish painting", as well more general descriptors like "Ars nova" and the highly-inclusive "Northern Renaissance art", subsequently allows for an broader geographical base for the artists associated with the period than the more inclusive "Flemish". Also, like the concept of the Italian Renaissance itself, it stresses the birth of a new age rather than the culmination of an old one.

Relation to the Italian Renaissance

Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Altarpiece, c. 1475. Uffizi. Painted in Bruges for Tommaso Portinari, the painting was brought to Florence in 1483.

The new style emerged in Flanders almost simultaneously with the beginning of the Italian Renaissance. The masters were very much admired in Italy, and may have had a bigger influence in Italy than the other way around in the 15th century.^[5] For example, Hugo van der Goes's Portinari Altarpiece played an important role in introducing Florentine painters to trends in the north, and artists like Antonello da Messina probably came under the influence of Netherlandish painters working in Sicily, Naples and later Venice. Early Netherlandish painters were not immune to the innovations in art that were occurring south of the Alps, however. Jan van Eyck, for example, might have travelled to Italy around 1426 to 1428, a trip that would have affected his work on the Ghent Altarpiece, and the international importance of cities like Bruges meant a great influx of foreign influence.^[5][6]

Religious paintings - church decoration or altarpieces for churches and private use, for example - remained popular subjects in both Early Netherlandish and Italian Renaissance painting. The role of Renaissance humanism, however, was not as strong in the north as it was in Italy. Instead, local trends, such as Devotio Moderna are more apparent and had an impact on the subject and format of many artworks. For example, emphasis on the suffering of Christ and other emphatic subject matter was more popular.

Like Florence, where banking and trade led to numerous private commissions, wealthy merchants commissioned religious paintings for private devotion (often including themselves in the form of donor portraits) as well as secular portraits. Additionally, the presence of the Burgundian court, like the situation in Urbino and other Italian cities, allowed court artists to flourish. Painters were also increasingly self-aware of their position in society: they signed their works more often, painted self portraits, and become well-known figures because of their artistic activities alone.

One of the most obvious differences is the influence of classical antiquity. It is far less pronounced in the north, only fully entering Netherlandish painting in the 16th century. Moreover, while in Italy we see radical changes in architecture, sculpture and philosophy as well, the revolution in Netherlandish art is largely restricted to painting.^[2] Gothic architecture, for example, remains the dominant style through the 16th century, and even informs the local style of Italian Renaissance architecture when the Italian influences do eventually appear.

As Bruges diminished as an artistic center around 1500, and Antwerp's position increased, one manifestation of the shift is seen in the artists identified as Antwerp Mannerists. Although largely anonymous, and only active from about 1500 to 1530, they mark the end of Early Netherlandish painting and instigate the shift to the next stage. The Antwerp Mannerists are so-called because, although incorporating Italian influence, they were thought to represent a "latent Gothic" still informed by Netherlandish traditions of the preceding century.^[7]

For painting in the period after about 1500 and before the Dutch Revolt, see Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting

List of painters

• Claus Sluter a sculptor of the previous generation, was an important influence.
• Melchior Broederlam (c.1350-after 1409)
• Jean Malouel (died 1415)
• Limbourg Brothers (1385–1416)
• Hubert van Eyck (c.1366–1426)
• Robert Campin, also called Master of Flemalle (1378–1444)
• Henri Bellechose (d. ca. 1445)
• Jan van Eyck (c.1385–1441)
• Dirk Bouts (c. 1400/1415-1475)
• Rogier van der Weyden (c.1399/1400-1464)
• Petrus Christus (c.1410/1420-1475/1476)
• Joos van Wassenhove also called Justus of Ghent (c.1410-1480), later one of the few Northern artists who worked in Italy
• Jacques Daret (c.1404-1470)
• Barthélemy d'Eyck (c.1420-1470), worked in Southern France
• Simon Marmion (c.1425-1489)
• Hans Memling (c.1430-1494), born in Germany
• Hugo van der Goes (1440–1482)
• Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450 - 1516)
• Gerard David (c.1460-1523)
• Jan Joest van Calcar (c.1450 - 1519)
• Albert van Ouwater (1444–1515)
• Michael Sittow, born in Estonia, worked in Flanders and Spain, possibly visiting England
• Quentin Matsys
• Juan de Flandes (c.1460-c.1519) - born in Flanders, active in Spain
• Geertgen tot Sint Jans (c.1460–1490)
• Joachim Patinir, the first specialist landscape painter.
• Jean Hey, also called Master of Moulins (active 1480-1500)
• Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy (1480–1510)
• Master of the Embroidered Foliage (active ca. 1480-1510)

Timeline by year

See also

• Early Renaissance painting.
• Renaissance in the Netherlands
• Northern Renaissance

References

External links

• Centre for the Study of Fifteenth-Century Painting in the Southern Netherlands and the Principality of Liège List of 1700 works by artist.
• Early Flemish Altarpieces - virtual tour from Web Gallery of Art
• Flemish artists in Italy - Early Netherlandish works painted for Italian patrons in the 15th century.
• Northern Renaissance - Artists and their Works - covers the 15th and 16th centuries.
• Northern Renaissance ArtWeb - Collection of links on major 15th and 16th century artists by Sarah E.C.Peterson.
• Jan van Eyck and northern Renaissance painting by John Haber
• Flemish Art Collection: Exotic Primitives - About exotic themes in the paintings of the Flemish Primitives

Further reading