Northern Renaissance Documentary

From the documentary, “Northern Renaissance: The Supreme Art,” Joseph Leo Koerner takes us through an exciting journey through an extraordinary revival of beautiful art. The most valued type of art was religious. I think a lot of the art was based on Christianity and naturalism. Jan Van Eyck, “The Prince of Painters” started it all with his realistic paintings. His sensible oil paintings were like another way into the world, his art was very representative and people loved it. His paintings were alive and spoke to the audience, this Northern Renaissance art was favored by his Christian paintings. Every detail in his paintings has a purpose and has delicate features. This changed the ways of Northern Renaissance art. The panels and shutters were so carefully detailed that when the light hits, the certain figures are highlighted. It’s interesting the Adam is highlighted and eve is not. Van Eyck changed the base materials in oil paints by using different types of minerals to purify the color, making the color stand out when in different lighting. These rich colors made the paintings stand out almost as an illusion. Without these specific details, the paintings would not be portrayed the same. The lighting is so important because of Christian background, being the “light of god”. This idea was unheard of, which I think is why it became so popular. After Van Eyck, portrait paintings became a master industry, along with detailed backgrounds. Van Eyck inspired Nicholas Rola, the vineyards he painted were as much as important as the materials made by the painting.

Although painting was important, sculpture was portrayed as the dominant craft. Sculptures were very popular; they stood out more than paintings. In the southern renaissance, art sculpture had a presence where each figure is individualized. The paintings shared stories on shutters or the wings of the buildings. Although paintings were not their favorite, people did love the private prayer books; all the paintings inside were beautiful and extremely detailed. The religious paintings looked as if they were leaving the page or out of the window into the coherent world. Van Eyck’s paintings seemed alive and qualified to perfection.  A lot of his work reflected his personal life, which has never been done before.

One type of paintings that the southern renaissance did enjoy was tapestry. Rich lifestyles were a big influence of tapestries, they were made of the finest material and silk thread was based off of wealth and power.

Religious images seemed to be the most important in the Northern Renaissance. Having a visual substance in the paintings, one had thought Christ could enter the body through the eye. Visual experience was the most important throughout these times, especially in Van Eyck’s eyes. His Christian paintings depicted a real sense. I believe he wanted to make his art so realistic because he wanted to feel as if they were living in the present. Some of his paintings are mysterious, but his inscriptions and certain detail makes his paintings are so present, which I think, is exactly what he wanted. He wanted to connect death and life together. Without Van Eyck, the legacy of his extraordinary work would not make renaissance art the same. His amazing capabilities created a new world in his images, he’s apart of all his work which is an entirely new idea to this age and I believe will live on forever, and so will Van Eyck.