Northern European artists of the 15th century followed a different path than their Italian counterparts. While both groups sought a new visual language to describe the world they saw around them, the northern artists recreated this reality in precisely descriptive terms using oil paint. During the same period that the Italian artists perfected the perspective system to create an ideal setting for figures, northern painters continued the use of symbolism in the Gothic tradition. The great achievements in northern painting were at first centered in Flanders before spreading to other parts of Europe. The increasing popularity of the oil medium was coupled with another northern invention, that of printmaking. Using the woodcut and engraving techniques, artists created an independent medium that would revolutionize the visual arts. By the end of the 15th century, the northern "Late Gothic" style was represented in every medium, and exerted as great an influence as early Renaissance art. Both styles would eventually merge in the works of selected artists at the beginning of the 16th century.
After reading the chapter, you should be able to:
- recognize the importance of the oil medium in the development of northern painting.
- identify the works of individual artists.
- define disguised symbolism and be able to recognize some examples in 15th century art.
- understand the techniques used in the printmaking processes of the 15th century.
- chart the development and progress made by the northern style throughout Europe.
