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 The Birth of Venus (c. 1484–1486) byBotticelli |
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| History and study |
TheRenaissance in the Low Countries was a cultural period in theNorthern Renaissance that took place in around the 16th century in theLow Countries (corresponding to modern-dayBelgium, theNetherlands andFrench Flanders).
Culture in the Low Countries at the end of the 15th century was influenced by theItalian Renaissance, through trade viaBruges, which made Flanders wealthy. Its nobles commissioned artists who became known across Europe. In science, theanatomistAndreas Vesalius led the way; incartography,Gerardus Mercator's map assisted explorers and navigators. In art,Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting went from the strange work ofHieronymus Bosch to the everyday life ofPieter Brueghel the Elder. In architecture, music and literature too, the culture of the Low Countries moved into the Renaissance style.
In 1500, theSeventeen Provinces were in a personal union under theBurgundian Dukes, and with theFlemish cities as centers of gravity, culturally and economically formed one of the richest parts of Europe. During the course of the century the region also experienced significant changes.Humanism andReformation led to a rebellion against the Spanish rule ofPhilip II of Spain and the start of thereligious war. By the end of the 16th century the Northern andSouthern Netherlands were effectively split. While this fracture was reflected in the visual arts by theDutch Golden Age in the north and theFlemish Baroque in the south, other areas of thought remained associated with 16th-century currents ofRenaissance thought. Gradually, the balance of power shifted away from the Southern Netherlands, which remained under Spanish authority, to the emergingDutch Republic.[1]
Two factors determined the fate of the region in the 16th century. The first was the union with the kingdom of Spain through the 1496 marriage ofPhilip the Handsome ofBurgundy andJuana of Castile. Their son, Charles V, born inGhent, would inherit the largest empire in the world, and theNetherlands, although a prominent part of the empire, became dependent on a large foreign power.
A second factor included religious developments. TheMiddle Ages gave way to new modes of religious thinking.Devotio Moderna practices, for example, were particularly strong in the region, while the 16th-century criticisms of theCatholic Church that spread throughout Europe also reached the Low Countries.Humanists such asDesiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam were critical but remained loyal to the church. However, the spread of theProtestant Reformation, started byMartin Luther in 1517, eventually led to outright war. The Reformation, particularly the ideas ofJohn Calvin, gained significant support in the Low Countries, and following the 1566iconoclastic outbreaks Spain attempted to quell the tide and maintain the authority of thepost-Tridentine Church through force by installingFernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba.[2] The repression that followed led to theDutch Revolt, the beginning of theEighty Years War, and the establishment of theDutch Republic in the northern provinces. Subsequently, the Southern Netherlands became a bastion for theCounter Reformation, whileCalvinism was the main religion of those in power in the Dutch Republic.
Trade in the port ofBruges and the textile industry, mostly in Ghent, turned Flanders into the wealthiest part of Northern Europe at the end of the 15th century. The Burgundian court dwelled mostly in Bruges, Ghent andBrussels. The nobles and rich traders were able to commission artists, creating a class of highly skilled painters and musicians who were admired and requested around the continent.[3]
This led to frequent exchanges between the Low Countries and Northern Italy. Examples are Italian architectsTommaso Vincidor andAlessandro Pasqualini, who worked in the Low Countries for most of their careers, Flemish painterJan Gossaert, whose visit to Italy in 1508 in the company ofPhilip of Burgundy left a deep impression,[1] musicianAdrian Willaert who madeVenice into the most important musical centre of its time[3] (seeVenetian School) andGiambologna, a Flemish sculptor who spent his most productive years inFlorence.
Before 1500, the Italian Renaissance had little or no influence above the Alps. After this Renaissance influences moved northward, but unlike theItalian Renaissance, Gothic elements remained important. The revival of the classical period is also not a central theme like in Italy, the "rebirth" shows itself more as a return to nature and earthly beauty.[3]
Fifteenth-century painting in the Low Countries still shows strong religious influences, contrary to the Germanic painting. Even after 1500, when Renaissance influences begin to show, the influence of the masters from the previous century leads to a largely religious and narrative style of painting.
The first painter showing the marks of the new era isHieronymus Bosch. His work is strange and full of seemingly irrational imagery, making it difficult to interpret.[1] Most of all it seems surprisingly modern, introducing a world of dreams that highly contrasts with the traditional style of the Flemish masters of his day.
After 1550, the Flemish and Dutch painters begin to show more interest in nature and in beautyan sich, leading to a style that incorporates Renaissance elements, but remains very far from the elegant lightness ofItalian Renaissance art,[3] and directly leads to the themes of the great Flemish and DutchBaroque painters: landscapes, still lifes and genre painting – scenes from everyday life.[1]
This evolution is seen in the works ofJoachim Patinir andPieter Aertsen, but the true genius among these painters wasPieter Brueghel the Elder, well known for his depictions of nature and everyday life, showing a preference for the natural condition of man, choosing to depict the peasant instead of the prince.
TheLandscape with the Fall of Icarus, now thought to be an early copy, combines several elements of northern Renaissance painting. It hints at the renewed interest for antiquity (theIcarus legend), but the hero Icarus is hidden away in the background. The main actors in the painting are nature itself and, most prominently, the peasant, who does not even look up from his plough when Icarus falls. Brueghel shows man as an anti-hero, comical and sometimes grotesque.[3]
As in painting,Renaissance architecture took some time to reach the Low Countries, and did not entirely supplant Gothic elements.[4] The most important sculptor in the Southern Netherlands wasGiambologna, who spent most of his career in Italy. An architect directly influenced by the Italian masters wasCornelis Floris de Vriendt, who designed thecity hall of Antwerp, finished in 1564.
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In sculpture, however, 15th-century Netherlandish artists, while adhering to Christian subjects, developed techniques and a naturalistic style which compares favorably to the work of early-Renaissance Italian contemporaries such asDonatello.Claus Sluter (fl. ~1400) produced works such as theWell of Moses with a dynamism almost unknown at the turn of the 15th century; and Dutch-bornNikolaus Gerhaert van Leyden (b. ~1420) made sculptures such as "Man Meditating", which even today appear more "modern" than does ItalianQuattrocento carving.
In the early-17th centuryDutch Republic,Hendrick de Keyser plays an important role in developing theAmsterdam Renaissance style, not slavishly following the classical style but incorporating many decorative elements, giving a result that could also be categorized asMannerism.Hans Vredeman de Vries was another important name, primarily as a garden architect.
Although there is no reference to antiquity, there is a clear Flemish "Renaissance consciousness", as indicated by the words of Flemish theoristJohannes Tinctoris, who said of these Franco-Flemish composers: "Although it is beyond belief, nothing worth listening to had been composed before their time".[1]
Josquin des Prez was the most celebrated composer during theHigh Renaissance, and during his career enjoyed the patronage of three popes. Equally at ease in secular and religious music.[1]
Other important composers from the Low Countries wereGuillaume Dufay,Johannes Ockeghem,Jacob Clemens non Papa andAdrian Willaert.Orlande de Lassus, a Fleming who had lived in Italy as a youth and spent most of his career inMunich, was the leading composer of the late Renaissance.
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In the middle of the 16th century, a group ofrhetoricians (seeMedieval Dutch literature) inBrabant andFlanders attempted to put new life into the stereotyped forms of the preceding age by introducing in original composition the new-found branches ofLatin andGreek poetry. The leader of these men wasJohan Baptista Houwaert, who was led by an unbounded love of classical and mythological fancy.[5]
The most important genre was music publishing, especiallypsalms. TheSouterliedekens publication is one of the most important sources for the reconstruction of Renaissance folksongs. Later publishing was heavily influenced by the rebellion against the Spanish: heroic battle songs and political ballads ridiculing the Spanish occupants.
Best remembered of the writers isPhilips van Marnix, lord of Sint-Aldegonde, who was one of the leading spirits in the war of Dutch independence. He wrote asatire on the Roman Catholic Church, started to work on aBible translation and allegedly wrote the lyrics to theDutch national anthem.
Other important names areDirck Volckertszoon Coornhert,Hendrick Laurensz. Spieghel andRoemer Visscher. Inevitably, their works and career were very much determined by the struggle between Reformation and the Catholic Church.
The new age presents itself in science as well. FlemishanatomistAndreas Vesalius's life typically shows both the new possibilities and the troubles that came with them. He delivered ground-breaking work on human anatomy, after centuries of disregard for it. This earned him great respect from some, but also caused several enquiries into his methods (dissection of the human body) and the religious implications of his work.
While Vesalius performed ground-breaking work in rediscovering the human body,Gerardus Mercator, as one of the leadingcartographers of his time, did the same for rediscovering the outside world. Mercator too came into trouble with the Church because of his beliefs, and spent several months in jail after a conviction forheresy.
Both scientists' lives show how the Renaissance scientist is not afraid of challenging what has been taken for granted for centuries, and how this leads to problems with the all-powerful Catholic Church.
Though the invention of the printing press byLaurens Janszoon Coster in the 1430s appears to be a romantic notion, the Low Countries had an early start in printing. By 1470 aprinting press was in use inUtrecht, where the first dated extant book was printed in 1473, while the first book in the Dutch language was the 1477Delft Bible. By 1481 the Low Countries had printing shops in 21 cities and towns.[6] Famous publishing houses like those ofChristoffel Plantijn inAntwerp from 1555 on,Petrus Phalesius the Elder inLeuven from 1553, and theHouse of Elzevir inLeiden from around 1580 turned the Low Countries into a regional center of publishing.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Gosse, Edmund William (1911). "Dutch Literature § Houwaert". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 721.