Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art

      After watching the documentary “Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art.” I realized that the Northern Renaissance showed a very naturalistic style of art. The works of art such as the “The Ghent Altarpiece” by Jan Van Eyke, you get the sense that the people in the painting are there with you rather than just a painting. As they said in the documentary it looks as if the portrait of Adam is going to walk right off the painting. It was also very interesting that Jan Van Eyke put so much detail into this piece; he even made light reflections on the gems from the room in which the piece is made for. The size of this work of art is something important as well; it was made for a church in Belgium so it has to be big. The hierocracy of God is shown in the piece. He is directly in the center and is the biggest. This work of art is another that shows great importance in religion.

       In all these paintings there is another shared quality they all have and that is they are showing great importance in the Christian religion. Especially when you look at the sculpture of the “Well of Moses”. In this statue there it shows the large Biblical figures. Each of the prophets carries a scroll and Moses has a long flowing beard. There is so much detail in the sculptures as well as the paintings done in the northern renaissance. Many of the works of art in this era have very clear and elegant style and look to them. Jan Van Eyke was the creator and made painting into the ultimate art. His work of art was so real looking and he would include himself in his own work. In the documentary they said with art the dead could be seen again, they were referring to the portrait of Adam on the Ghent Altarpiece. I think that it is an interesting point to bring up because it is so true. It is crazy to think that people can picture history and then recreate it. Jan Van Eyke does a really great job at creating art. Everything has so much detail and looks naturalistic. Even in the self-portrait looks so real, and the painting “The Arnolfini Portrait” there is a chandelier hanging and there is only one candle on it. I am not quit sure of the meaning behind the single candle, but I am sure there is one. As you look closer into the painting you see that in the mirror he goes to great detail of painting their reflections. Also on the mirror there is scenes from the Bible, again showing religion is important in Northern Renaissance. 

       I think that the paintings that were created were there to reproduce the historical events, especially ones from the bible. Each of the naturalistic paintings, sculptures, or tapestries has allowed viewers to see them as if they were real. There are several fine details and you have to really look in the painting because at first glance they are unnoticed. This goes to show that naturalism and religion play a big part in the culture of Northern Renaissance. 

Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art