Jan van Eyck and Northern Renaissance Art ...................................

Lecture 14

In this and the next lecture, we are turning our attention back to

northern Europe, which we last visited when we looked at Gothic art

outside of France, around the year 1300.

I

n this lecture, we will focus on Jan van Eyck, one of the most famous
artists in history. We will discuss two of his works, the Arnol¿ ni Wedding
Portrait and the Ghent Altarpiece in the Church of San Bavo. Both
of these works display Renaissance elements that were developing at the
time. In addition, we will note some of the differences between the Italian
Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance.

The duchy of Burgundy was identical with the geographic area called the
Netherlands, and its political power and independence were supported
by a prosperous economy based on production and trade. Its proximity to
England, roads into the continent, and access to water routes gave it an
excellent trading position. The dukes of Burgundy and the city governments
were careful to control all aspects of production and trade through guilds.

Burgundy was roughly equal to the area of modern Belgium, whereas
Flanders was a more narrowly de¿ ned territory. The modern kingdom of
the Netherlands was in the northernmost part of Burgundy and played a
relatively small role in the economy and art of the 15th century. Many names
have been used to describe this region and its culture, but whether we call it
Burgundy or Belgium or speak of Flemish or Netherlandish art is irrelevant
as long as we keep chronology in mind.

Art in the Netherlands in the 15th century went hand-in-hand with economic
and political factors, and the production of and trade in art bene¿ ted greatly
from politics. Undeniably, northern Europeans shared the curiosity and sense
of discovery that characterized the Italian Renaissance. That included an
interest in the observable physical appearance of the world and the place of
humans in that world. This, rather than stylistic considerations or an interest
in antiquity, is what justi¿ es speaking of a Northern Renaissance.