Before 1450, Italian Renaissance humanism had little influence outside
Italy; after 1450, these ideas began to spread around Europe.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Describe how the Northern Renaissance differed from the Italian Renaissance
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Humanism influenced the German Renaissance, French Renaissance, English Renaissance,
Renaissance in the Netherlands, Polish Renaissance and other national and localized movements,
each with different characteristics and strengths.
Northern painters in the 16th century increasingly looked and traveled to Rome (becoming known
as the Romanists). TheHigh Renaissance art of Michelangelo and Raphael and the late
Renaissance stylistic tendencies of Mannerism had a great impact on their work.
Although Renaissance humanism and the large number of surviving classical artworks and
monuments in Italy encouraged many Italian painters to explore Greco­Roman themes, Northern
Renaissance painters developed other subject matters, such as landscape and genre painting.
TERMS [ edit ]
Northern Renaissance
The Northern Renaissance is the Renaissance in northern Europe. Before 1450 Italian
Renaissance humanism had little influence outside Italy. From the late 15th century the ideas
spread around Europe. This influenced the German Renaissance, French Renaissance, English
Renaissance, Renaissance in the Netherlands, Polish Renaissance and other national and
localized movements, each with different characteristics and strengths.
Romanists
Romanism was the style of painting of a group of artists in the late 15th and early 16th century
from the Netherlands who began to visit Italy and started to incorporate Renaissance influences
in their work.
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Overview
The Northern Renaissance is the
Renaissance in northern Europe. Before
1450, Italian Renaissance humanism had
little influence outside Italy; however,
from the late fifteenth century, these ideas
began to spread around Europe. This
influenced the German Renaissance,
French Renaissance, English Renaissance,
Renaissance in the Netherlands, Polish
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Renaissance and other national and localized movements. Each of these regional expressions
of the Renaissance evolved with different characteristics and strengths. In some areas, the
Northern Renaissance was distinct from the Italian Renaissance in its centralization of
political power. While Italy and Germany were dominated by independent city­states, parts
of central and western Europe began emerging as nation­states. The Northern Renaissance
was also closely linked to the Protestant Reformation and the long series of internal and
external conflicts between various Protestant groups and the Roman Catholic Church had
lasting effects.
As in Italy, the decline of feudalism opened the way for the cultural, social, and economic
changes associated with the Renaissance in northern Europe. Northern painters in the
16th century increasingly looked and traveled to Rome, becoming known as the Romanists.
The High Renaissance art of Michelangelo and Raphael and the late Renaissance stylistic
tendencies of Mannerism had a great impact on their work . Although Renaissance
humanism and the large number of surviving classical artworks and monuments in Italy
encouraged many Italian painters to explore Greco­Roman themes, Northern Renaissance
painters developed other subject matters, such as landscape and genre painting.
Danae by Jan Mabuse
One of the most well­known Romanists was Jan Mabuse. The influence of Michelangelo and Raphael
showed in the use of mythology and nudity in this particular piece.
As Renaissance art styles moved through northern Europe, they changed and were adapted
to local customs. For example, in England and the northern Netherlands,
theReformation nearly ended the tradition of religious painting. In France, the School of
Fontainebleau, which was originally founded by Italians such as Rosso Fiorentino, succeeded
in establishing a durable national style. Finally, by the end of the 16th century, artists such as
Karel van Mander and Hendrik Goltzius collected in Haarlem in a brief but intense phase of
Northern Mannerism that also spread to Flanders.