Jan Van Eyck and the northern renaissance (early 15th century)

The history of art as it unfolded in Europe has two fronts. In Italy, classical ideals permeated the manners of painters, sculptors, and architects with their emphasis on order, strong lines, and perspective. The exemplars of these ideals were the architect Brunelleschi, the sculptor Donatello, and the painter Masaccio.

They were fervent students of the ancient masters, and they hoped to bring about an ushering of the classical spirit in the 15th century.

Clockwise: Donatello's St. George (1417), Florence cathedral's dome by Brunelleschi (1436), and the holy trinity by Masaccio (1428)

Their works caused a major shift in the taste and style of Italians. Their conception of beauty slowly drifted away from the Gothic style¹ that shaped the majority of art during the middle ages. The intent of these pioneering masters would eventually reach its realization, a century later, during the high renaissance.

Northern Europe was different in style and philosophy. Gothic traditions of decorative details and careful portrayals of religious scenes were norms that northern artists still adhered to. 

They were more pronounced in the use of colors. They wanted their art to show the minutiae of everyday life, and it is this pursuit of achieving a direct likeness that defined their art style.

The miraculous draft of fishes by Konrad Witz (1444)

The north had a renaissance of its own. Though it differs from the south with its emphasis on realism rather than an ideal beauty. It was at this temperament that their own revolution came about, and it gained fruition in the works of the Flemish painter, Jan Van Eyck.

Self-portrait (1433)

Jan Van Eyck was born in Belgium. His date of birth remains unknown but scholars suggest it's between 1380 to 1390. He underwent an apprenticeship in painting under one of his brothers, became a master himself, and went to be employed as a court painter. The rich compensation he got from his patrons allowed him creative freedom and plenty of time to refine his craft.

The Van Eyck brothers were frequent painters for the church. In fact, Jan's most famous painting is an altarpiece originally commissioned to his brother Hubert. It is a polyptych² called The mystic adoration of the lamb. 

Jan took over this project upon his brother's death. All the paintings are generally attributed to him, and it is a firsthand example of how Van Eyck singlehandedly changed the north's perception of paintings.

The mystic adoration of the lamb, also known as the Ghent altarpiece (1432)

Altarpieces were common during Van Eyck's time and most of them are made in the prevailing International gothic style³. It would be helpful to compare one such example to know how different, and innovative Van Eyck's altarpieces were.

Wilton Diptych (1399)

The same gaiety, color, and crowd that is typical of northern art, are present in both. What separates them is Van Eyck's honest portrait of nature. His figures looked lifelike, real. We viewers feel as if the the divine revelation of the gospel is proclaimed in our realm, and not in an idealized place. 

Ghent Altarpiece details

God the father's portrait in the center looks like a Pope. Mary and John the Baptist at his sides are portrayed with humanlike dignity in their statures and draperies. 

Ghent altarpiece details

The singing angels are not the typical winged beings that Europeans, at the time, are accustomed to. They were portrayed with a keen observance of human expression.

Ghent altarpiece center panel

In the middle panel, the symbolism of the lamb as the sacrificed son of god are attended by a congregation of knights, priests, clergymen, monks, and lay people-a gathering common in northern art that is improved by Van Eyck's realism. 

This can be observed in the details put to make each faces distinct, to the subtle use of perspective, all the way to the nuances of the trees in the background.

Ghent altarpiece top-side panels

The height of this realism is perhaps most pronounced in Adam and Eve. Van Eyck did not portray an ideal form of a man and woman. What beholders witnessed was an honest portrayal of man that is beautiful in its own right. 

This interplay of realism and sacredness is perhaps the reason why the Ghent altarpiece is an enigma. Van Eyck's loyalty to nature emerged a picture of the gospels that was able to mirror the human condition.

Van Eyck's innovations does not only span matters of style, it was also due to craftiness. Van Eyck is attributed with making oil paint popular. 

Artists during the 14th century used water or egg⁴ to mix color pigments, which resulted in a paint that is quick to dry but hard to blend. Oil paint, on the other hand, allowed for a smoother transition between colors. 

It dries slowly, gives more coverage, and has a glossy finish that makes colors vibrant. This discovery paved the way for techniques like Chiaroscuro⁵ and Sfumato⁶ used by succeeding realist painters.

Van Eyck's style and use of oil paint suited an emerging genre of his time: portrait paintings. His most famous one, The Arnolfini portrait, captures a civil union between a wealthy Italian and his bride. 

The Arnolfini portrait (1434)

This manner of recording life events as we do with photographs in our modern age, was a break in Europe's art tradition. 

In the middle ages, art's sole purpose was to depict religious imagery. Through Van Eyck, a new purpose was laid for art. His emphasis on details as seen in the mirror, the chandelier, the sandals in the bottom left corner, and the pup's furs showed that art can be medium for the ordinary. 

It showed that in art, the real can be as beautiful as the ideal, whether the subject is religious or secular in nature.  

This attention to detail spurred by Van Eyck became influential for northern artists after him, and served as foundation for the Dutch golden age of the 1600s. In fact, if one looks closely, his style can be seen in the works of succeeding artists like Rembrandt, Hans Holbein, Hieronymus Bosch and even Italian masters like Titian and Caravaggio. 

His northern renaissance of realism gave variety to art in purposes and techniques. He gave attention to the commonplace and made them worthy subjects of art.

Notes: 

1. A style of medieval art that developed in northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD, characterized by elaborate tracery, stained glass windows, and pointed arches.

2. A painting divided into sections or panels. Paintings with two panels are called Diptych, those with three are called triptych. A polyptych describes any painting that has more than one constitutive part.

3. A period of Gothic art which began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the 14th and 15th century, characterized by illuminated manuscripts, courtly sophistication, and decorative elements.

4. This technique of mixing paint is called Tempera.

5. The use of strong contrast between light and dark colors.

6. A painting technique for softening the transition between colors.

References: 

The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich 

Wikipedia.org

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