Italian High Renaissance and North European Art

Paper Summary:

This paper examines 16th century European art. It first shows how, during this time, the Italian artists successfully claimed a very high place among the fine arts with their masterpieces. It focuses, in particular, on the artist most typical of the High Renaissance period, Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520). The paper looks at Sanzio's "School of Athens" as an example of his work. In contrast, while this great art movement was occurring in Italy, the lands beyond the Alps were still immersed in the Gothic manner, which persisted well into the 16th century in the north of Europe. The paper examines the work of Flanders artist, Hieronymus Bosch, and his painting, "Garden of Earthly Delights".

From the Paper:

"The subjects in this painting are apparently derived in part from three major sources, being Medieval bestiaries, Flemish proverbs and the then very popular dream books, all intertwined in the melting pot of Bosch's astonishingly inventive imagination. In addition, there are frequent allusions to magic and alchemy and animal and vegetable forms are mingled in the most absurd combinations. Symbols are scattered throughout the panels, such as "fruit for sexual pleasure, eggs for alchemy and sex, a rat for lies and fabrications and dead fish for memories of past joys.""

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