Week 2 Discussion History of Art from the Middle ages to Modern Times

The Sixteenth Century in Northern Europe

Outside of Italy in the sixteenth century, religion continued to be an important in�uence in the production of art. Some art, such as German artist Matthias Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece (c. 1510-15), af�rmed the tenets of the Catholic Church with its intensely emotional representation of the Cruci�xion. Netherlandish artist Hieronymus Bosch, a practicing Catholic, created an unconventional triptych in his Garden of Earthly Delights (c. 1505- 15). The oil on panel is a symbolically rich and imaginative reminder that excesses of the �esh enjoyed during one’s natural life can lead to eternal damnation.

In other parts of Europe, a backlash against perceived excesses of the Catholic Church and its papacy resulted in a widespread call for Church reform. German theologian Martin Luther issued his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517, sparking the movement known as the Reformation. Luther and other reformers emphasized the authority of the Scriptures and individual faith. The most fundamental outcome of the Reformation was the spread of sects of Protestantism across Europe during the century. German artist Albrecht Durer’s Four Apostles (1526) expresses the artist’s own Protestant (speci�cally Lutheran) beliefs. In the diptych, the apostle Peter (the �rst pope), has been relegated to the background left of the composition, while Martin Luther’s favorite apostle, John, is at front left, holding an open Gospel with the inscription, “In the beginning was the Word,” highlighting the primacy of Scriptures, with no papal intercessor, espoused by the Protestants.

With a loss of a market for religious images in countries turning largely to Protestantism, other subjects, such as portraiture, landscapes, and moralizing genre scenes rose in popularity for artists and patrons. Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s landscapes and Han Holbein’s portraits were produced in this context.

Additional Materials

Grunewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece  (http://www.learner.org/courses/globalart/work/234/)

Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights  (https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-garden-of-earthly-delights-triptych/02388242- 6d6a-4e9e-a992-e1311eab3609)

The Protestant Reformation  (http://www.history.com/topics/reformation)

Albrecht Durer  (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/durr/hd_durr.htm)

Pieter Bruegel the Elder  (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/brue/hd_brue.htm)

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