Renaissance and Reformation Section 2

17.2 – The Northern Renaissance

Renaissance and Reformation Section 2

Reading Focus• How did the Renaissance spread to northern Europe?

• What contributions did writers and philosophers make to the northern Renaissance?

• How did the works of northern artists differ from those of the Italian Renaissance?

Main IdeaRenaissance ideas soon spread beyond Italy to northern Europe by means of trade, travel, and printed material, influencing the art and ideas of the north.

The Northern Renaissance

Renaissance and Reformation Section 2

Trade, the movement of artists and scholars, and the development of printing helped spread Renaissance ideas north from Italy.

• As cities grew, vast trading network spread across northern Europe

• Network dominated by Hanseatic League, merchant organization, 1200s to 1400s

– Protected members from pirates, other hazards

– Built lighthouses, trained ship captains

Trading Goods• Northern Europeans traded

ideas, goods; spread Italian Renaissance north

• Fleeing violence, Italian artists brought humanist ideas, painting techniques north

• Northern scholars traveled to Italy, brought ideas home

• Universities started in France, Netherlands, Germany

Trading Ideas

The Renaissance Spreads North

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Printing Press• Mid-1400s, Johannes Gutenberg cast letters of alphabet on metal plates,

locked metal plates on wooden press; perfected movable type printing• Result, one of most dramatic upheavals world has ever known• Easier access to books prompted more people to learn to read, cheaper too

Bible• Gutenberg’s first publication, 1,282-page Bible• Explosion of printed material quickly spread Renaissance ideas

A Book Revolution

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Northern humanists expressed their own ideas

Combined interests of theology, fiction and history

• Combined Christian ideas, humanism

• Wrote of pure, simple Christian life, educating children

• Fanned flames of discontent

• Roman Catholic Church censored, condemned works

Desiderius Erasmus• More’s best-known

work, Utopia, contains criticisms of English government, society

• Presents vision of perfect, non-existent society based on reason

Sir Thomas More• Italian-born writer

focused on role of women in society

• Grew up in French court of Charles V; turned to writing when widowed

• Championed equality, education for women

Christine de Pisan

Philosophers and Writers

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• Use of language, choice of themes made plays appealing even to uneducated

• Plays helped spread ideas of Renaissance to mass audience

• Focused on lives of realistic characters, unlike morality plays

• By Shakespeare’s death, 1616, London scene of thriving theatre district

Spread Renaissance Ideas

• Many believe English playwright William Shakespeare greatest writer

• Plots not original, but treatments of them masterful

• Drew inspiration from ancient, contemporary literature

• Knowledge of natural science, humanist topics expressed in plays

William ShakespeareShakespeare and His Characters

Renaissance and Reformation Section 2Artists

Like literary counterparts, northern European artists influenced by Italian Renaissance

• Adopted Italian techniques

• Works reflected more realistic view of humanity– Italian artists tried to capture beauty of Greek, Roman gods in paintings

– Northern artists tried to depict people as they really were

• 1400s, German artist Albrecht Dürer visited Italy• On return, used Italian techniques of realism, perspective• Oil paintings exhibit features unique to northern Renaissance• Oils reproduced textures; reflection of objects, scenes outside

window

Dürer and Others

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• Artists of Netherlands developed own style, Flemish School

• Used technique perfected by Jan van Eyck, 1400s

• Fused the everyday with religious; lit candle represents God’s presence

Flemish School

• 1500s, Pieter Brueghel the Elder used Italian techniques

• Paintings showed scenes from everyday peasant life

• Different from mythological scenes of Italian paintings

Everyday Life

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Renaissance and Reformation Section 2

Legacies of the Renaissance

• Changes in the Arts– Techniques draw on

the Greeks & Romans– Depictions more

realistic– Both secular &

religious– Writers use vernacular– Individual achievement

recognized

• Changes is Society– Printing creates a

learning revolution– Revolution leads to

discoveries in other fields

– Laws clearer, more defined

– Humanist ideas change idea of how to live life

– People begin to question politics & religion