Northern Renaissance Art

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Northern Renaissance Art Art thrived in Northern Europe, especially in Germany and the Low Countries, in the fifteenth centuries. Renaissance theories began to change, painting, sculpture, and architecture. Renaissance theories spanned nearly the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries and believed by some as the rise of modern history. Particularly in Italy classical themes in art and literature, had a return to realistic portrayal of nature through careful observation, and the restoration of Greek philosophy of humanism, in which human dignity, ideas, and capabilities are the focus. In each country took Renaissance concepts and adapted them to contemporary art forms to create unique forms of Renaissance classicism. (Carnagie) Changes were taking place all over Europe, not just in Art but also in economics and religious views. More than ever before art was available, as well as affordable for many people. For instance, a single woodcut cost only pennies. People were decorating their homes with portraits, goldsmith wares, and small collectibles. Most art was religious in nature, reflecting a society in which religious images indicated personal, religious devotion, as well as heavenly and earthly aspirations. (encyclopedia.com) For example, a patron might commission an altarpiece as a sign of his desire for salvation and a reminder to fellow citizens of his prominent social or financial status. Unlike Italy, there were no significant cultural centers to which large numbers of artists gravitated. Almost all artists in northern Europe, therefore, created their works in a certain town or region, rather than moving from one artistic haven to another. Very few of the biggest towns were able to attract a group of artists who received commissions from patrons in other countries. More than any other time in history, art became
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