The northern renaissance (survey of western art history: renaissance to contemporary)

The Northern Renaissance Europe experienced the revival of drawing, fine art and architecture and sculpture between 1400 and 1600. In Northern Europe, Renaissance was characterized by the representation of light and the reflection from different surfaces in the achievement of supreme realism. Most artists in the Northern Renaissance contributed to the invention of oil paint during the beginning of the 15th century as a new media of art. Additionally, Renaissance was marked by an interest in education and the natural world. People became more literate and this helped in the transfer of artistic developments and ideas around Europe. In addition, the status of Painters and Sculptures changed to the talented interior decorators. This was the first time they were recognized as independent personalities. The artists sought new solutions to formal as well as the visual problems. Moreover, more emphasis was put to ‘ disegno’ also known as drawing that incorporates all the designs in a piece of art (Kleiner, Fred, & Helen, 30).
The paintings and sculpture of Northern Europe differed from the Southern Europe in that the southern had a different outlook of art as their artists created paintings of the Greek and Roman mythologies of their gods and goddesses. They were always looking for new things to create. On the other hand, the northern works of art dealt with naturalism where color and art are checked with a critical eye. In addition, the painting medium became popular in northern Europe while the southern Europe preferred to use fresco and tempera. Lastly, the paintings of northern Europe were more realistic and depicted everyday settings while the northern paintings show ordinary household objects.
Works Cited
Kleiner, Fred S., and Helen Gardner. Gardners Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective.
14th Ed., International ed. Vol. II. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth ;, 2013. Print.