THE THE NORTHERN NORTHERN

RENAISSANCERENAISSANCE

more interested than Italians in religious reform & educating laity Religious questions were an important focus of northern humanists Christianity had arrived later, ppl. looking for ways to deepen faith

printing press with movable type: Gutenberg, Mainz, mid-15th c. precursors: rise of universities & literacy (demand for books); invention

of cheap paper rulers in church & state now had to deal with more educated & critical

public; also powerful tool of religious/political propaganda in Reformation

Catholic humanist reformers pave the way for Protestantism: Erasmus: most famous northern humanist; Catholic educational &

religious reformer Thomas More: best-known English humanist; Utopia

William Shakespeare: literary giant of the Northern Renaissance

Art of the Northern Renaissance 4 Major Themes of Northern

Renaissance Art: Realistic portraits Religious themes Landscapes Scenes of daily life

Albrecht DurerPraying Hands,

1508

Albrecht DurerYoung Hare, 1502

Jan van EyckGhent altarpiece, 1432

Pieter BrueghelPeasant Dance, 1568