North and South

 The Italian Renaissance Compared With the Northern Renaissance 

The Renaissance movement had a strong impact on artists in Europe, beginning in the 15th century. It was a time of rebirth and acknowledging human achievement. Within this period, there were two unique movements known as the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance was popular in the Southern areas like Italy and Greece, while the Northern Renaissance occurred in North Western places like Germany, France, and England. Both movements were inspired by a desire for humanism. Although both these movements have many similarities between them, there are important differences which make them very unique from each other. Northern Renaissance artists were more influenced by Protestant religious beliefs while Italian Renaissance artists were more influenced by the Roman Catholic Religion. These differing influences are evident in the Northern artists’ focus on secular scenes, while the Italian Renaissance artists were more concerned with Divine power. Northern Renaissance artworks were more naturalistic and detailed, while artworks from the Italian Renaissance consisted of linear perspective and balance. This exhibition is a collection of paintings from both the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance. Some pieces strongly portray themes unique to their movement, while other pieces reveal the ties between the two movements.

The School of Athens

Raphael

1510 - 1511

Fresco

Vatican Museums, Vatican

Typical to the Italian Renaissance, Raphael represented Greek and Roman philosophers as a way of pointing to a higher power and Divinity. This Fresco would be viewed in a room that had other religious paintings, encouraging viewers to compare the figure of Socrates (the reclining figure in the centre) to Jesus on the other paintings. As an Italian Renaissance artist, Raphael emphasised the use of linear perspective, balance and symmetry. This painting reveals the Italian Renaissance artists tendency to represent human bodies as idealised, using a rule of proportion for the human figures. The architecture in Raphael’s painting is his way of combining classical paganism with christianity.

The Harvesters

 Pieter Bruegel the Elder 

  1565

Oil on wood

Accession Number: 19.164

During the same period, Bruegel, a Northern Renaissance painter used very different techniques to encourage humanism. Rather than using nature as a ground to point to a higher Divinity, Bruegel focuses on the everyday life of peasants, a scene that would be relatable for many people. Compared to the more pious stance of the Italian Renaissance, Bruegel does not use idealised human figures, but rather more natural representations. Bruegel studied in Italy and was influenced by Italian Renaissance, evident in his precise realism. However, he was unique in his approach to natural landscape and human beings.

Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci

c.1503 - c.1519 

Oil, panel, wood, poplar

Louvre, Paris, France

The Italian Renaissance was a period of humanism. As a way of promoting the individual, da Vinci painted a portrait of a woman who existed during his time. This portrait would have been used as a way of conveying status and position as well as believable representation of what the subject truly looked like. Although his style of representing her smooth skin and facial features is very idealised, da Vinci paints the figure to face the viewer, giving the subject more personality.

Self-Portrait at the Age of Twenty Eight

Albrecht Durer

1500

Oil, panel

Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany

Durer was a Northern Renaissance artist, yet many similarities to Italian Renaissance are evident in this self-portrait. He studied in Italy and was influenced by the idealism of the Italian Renaissance, which he combined with the German desire for detail. Similar to the Mona Lisa, this portrait has many naturalistic features which give a believable representation of the subject, yet the emphasis on the hands and head points to Italian Renaissance desire to elevate the status of the subject. This painting suggests the overlaps between the Italian and Northern Renaissance movements.

Creation of Adam 

Michelangelo

1510

Fresco

Sistine Chapel, Vatican

Typical to the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo painted a scene from a bible story. Religious painting was very popular. Unlike the Northern Renaissance which suggested the naturalism and imperfections of humans, the Italian Renaissance pushed for the perfectionism of both the Divine and humans. This is evident in Michelangelo depicting God’s body with an idealised body pointing to Adam who also has a very idealised body. The nude figures in this painting makes it unique to the Italian Renaissance as compared to the Northern Italian modestly clothed figures.

The Birth of John the Baptist

Jan van Eyck

1422

Parchment

Turin City Museum of Ancient Art, Turin, Italy

This painting is similar to the Italian Renaissance, as van Eyck depicts a biblical story. However, it is unique to his Northern Renaissance movement because the scene is set in a natural, everyday room, which would be relatable to many people. The Northern Renaissance was heavily influenced by Protestantism which believed God was to be meditated upon in the everyday moment. Similar to the Italian Renaissance’s encouragement for people to look to the Divine, Jan van Eyck paints naturalistic women in a domestic setting to encourage viewers to think of the Divine in their own earthly context.