Essay about Italian and Northern European Renaissance

Inspired by the art, ideas, and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome, the Italian Renaissance began in around 1400. About a century later, these ideas had spread to Western Europe, creating the conditions for a similar event that took place, called the Northern Renaissance. The term Renaissance means “rebirth”. It was first used by Jacob Burckhardt, a historian in the 19th century to describe this time period, as society underwent a huge cultural shift and the rebirth of ancient cultures occurred.

The Italian Renaissance and Northern Renaissance were both influenced by Ancient Greece and Roman ideas. As a result, there are a number of various similarities. However, their ideals and effects on society were different. This also resulted in a variety of differences in art.

Throughout Europe, the Renaissance meant a revival of ancient cultures, and the rise of humanism. These ideas only became more widespread after the invention of the printing press, which allowed for the greater manufacturing of texts. Many humanists were interested with the idea of individualism and focused on combining pagan Greek and Roman texts with the Bible. 

In Italy, humanist thinkers focused on how to apply humanistic thought to government and secular leadership. Machiavelli, a civic humanist wrote (what is now) a well-known book, called The Prince. Which reasons that rulers must prioritize control and power over ethics, and that any means of doing so is justified. He is quoted saying “It is much safer for the prince to be feared than loved, but he ought to avoid making himself hated.” 

In contrast, Northern European humanism concentrated on reform in society with Christian principles. Texts such as Utopia by Thomas Moore, show how some of the Northern European humanists believed their society could be reformed by humanism. Another humanist from the Northern Renaissance, Erasmus wrote other texts like The Education of a Christian Prince and The Praise of Folly. The first text emphasizes how a monarch’s schooling should be created with thorough learning of the Bible and classic humanist texts. The Praise of Folly is more contentious, as Erasmus takes a humorous and satirical take on the government and religious establishments of the time. Erasmus himself was a pious Christian, but believed that the Church needed reform, and that this reform could be taken from the humanist ideals of the Renaissance. 

One of the biggest characteristics that marks the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is the change in art style. Compared to the art of the Middle Ages, Renaissance art featured many different artistic techniques such as chiaroscuro and sfumato. These techniques allowed Renaissance artists to create art with the characteristics that this time period is well known for, such as the use of perspective and realistic depiction of humans.

Art from the Italian Renaissance frequently depicted scenes from Greek and Roman myths or history, and might even have their own faces or the faces of the aristocratic patrons.This is shown in art like The Birth of Venus by Botticelli or The School of Athens by Raphael.  In comparison, the art from Northern Europe at that time often featured normal people in their everyday lives or focused on more religious subjects. For example, Descent from the Cross Rogier van der Weyden and The Milkmaid by Vermeer show how Northern artists focused on both religious scenes and normal, working people. 

Artists from the two different regions also focused on different techniques in their art. Northern artists were known for their realistic depictions and amazing attention to detail, especially in the background of the painting. On the other hand, Italian artists tended to focus on symmetry and linear perspective in their paintings. Northern Renaissance art also tended to emphasize emotion even more than Italian art.

Through the art created during the Renaissance, many Renaissance ideals were distilled. Artists and nobility alike used art to spread their own ideas to society. We can see this in the Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck, where a young pregnant woman is being married to a man much older than her. This painting is a reflection of the current social ideas and standards at the time. Similarly, The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo portrays God reaching out to Adam, but Adam not reaching back. Michelangelo reflects the humanist and individualist ideas at the time, showing that it is Adam’s choice to reach out and that he has the ability to better himself. 

So to conclude, many of the ideas from the Northern Renaissance are similar to the Italian Renaissance due to the widespread ideas of humanism. That said, there are some noticeable differences in the ideals, art, and outcomes in society.