Summary
Highlights
The lecture shifts focus from 1300s Italy to 1400s Northern Europe (France, Flanders, Germany). Similarities to the Italian Renaissance include increased naturalism, realistic human bodies, and deeper spatial extension, with the Church remaining a major patron. However, Northern Europe develops distinct characteristics that will be explored throughout the lectures.
The Limbourg Brothers' 'The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry' is introduced as an illuminated manuscript, which is an illustrated written work. Specifically, it's a 'Book of Hours,' popular among the aristocracy, containing prayers based on daily hours and a calendar of saints' feast days. This work exemplifies the Northern European trend towards private devotional prayer, decentralizing religious practice from the church to the home, a precursor to the Protestant Reformation.
The manuscript, created for the Duke of Berry, alternates between images of the aristocracy and idealized depictions of happy, well-cared-for peasants. This served to portray the Duke as a benevolent ruler. The artwork includes astrological elements like the sun chariot and zodiac signs, corresponding to different months.
The Duke's portrait demonstrates implied line and avoids hierarchical proportion. The background of the October scene features the Louvre, then the King's residence. The artwork utilizes tilted perspective, where lines go up rather than straight back, making objects appear as if they could fall off the page. Space is also created through scale, with foreground figures larger than background ones. However, the manuscript lacks atmospheric perspective, where distant objects appear hazier, leading to an unrealistic sense of detail in far-off elements like the castle windows. Over time, Renaissance art will evolve to incorporate more believable spatial recession.