The Northern Renaissance

• A French king claimed the throne of Naples in 1494 and invaded northern Italy, causing many Italian artists to go to Northern Europe for a safer life.
• King Francis I of France asked Leonardo da Vinci to retire in France. He also hired architects to rebuild and decorate his castle.
• Many types of artists were included in this part of the Renaissance, such as German or Flemish painters and sculptors.

German Painter: Albrecht Durer

• German artist Albrecht Dürer traveled to Italy in 1494 to study, then returned to Germany and produced woodcuts and engravings.
• Many of his works display religious subjects, classical myths or realistic landscapes.

German Painter: Hans Holbein

• Hans Holbein was influenced by Dürer's emphasis on realism.
• Specialized in painting portraits almost photographic in detail. Emigrated to England where he painted various members of the royal families.

Flemish Painter: Jan van Eyck

• Developed a new technique of painting layers of oil paint that would produce subtle colors in clothing and jewels.
• Made oil painting popular, and it spread to Italy eventually.

Flemish Painter: Pieter Bruegel

• Interested in realistic details and individual people. Very skillful at portraying large numbers of people.
• Captured scenes from everyday peasant life. Painted in rich colors, vivid detail, and balance to give a sense of feeling.

Christian Humanist: Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (Erasmus)

• Believed in Christianity of the heart, not one of the ceremonies or rules.
• Thought that everyone should study the bible to improve society.
• "Erasmus believed in a Christianity of the heart, not one of ceremonies or rules."

Christian Humanist: Thomas More

• Wrote the book "Utopia" which has come to mean a place that is ideal for everyone.
• Wrote in Latin, but it got translated to many other languages eventually.
• "Gold and silver, of which money is made, are so treated . . . that no one values them more highly than their true nature deserves. Who does not see that they are far inferior to iron in usefulness since without iron mortals cannot live any more than without fire and water?" -Utopia

Christine de Pizan: Women's Reforms

• Highly educated, and very educated for a women at the time.
• One of the first women to make a living as a writer, with short stories, biographies, novels, and manuals on military techniques.
• One of the first European writers to question different treatment of boys and girls.
• Her goal of formal education for both sexes would not be achieved for centuries.