Post #2 - Northern Renaissance Documentary

            During the rebirth of Northern Renaissance, artists took a different approach to their masterpieces.  Paintings and sculptures were the most popular forms during this era, and it countered what was presented in earlier times prior to this.  Although these pieces were attributed and influenced by the church, they contained more than just figures, they presented a story that could be aesthetically portrayed.  Famous artists such as the Jan Van Eyck from the documentary, not only created marvelous pieces that would flourish, but he invented a new way to approach the techniques of painting.  One of the most remarkable things that Van Eyck did in the film was creating images that not only reflected the light in the suggested areas, but he complimented it with the lighting that would directly affect the painting in reality.  This was something that nobody had ever been exposed to before.

            As the paintings and sculptures were widely popular, they had reason to stand out as much as they did back then to even today.  Within the documentary, they explained how each sculpture was almost embellished with its own personality, its own detail that separated each sculpture so much more from its accompanying pieces.  This gave character to each sculpture as it emphasized space and realism through each particular little detail.

            It appears that the influence of these works have changed drastically from prior forms, as they now focused on things that were now demanded by churches and patrons, which transformed the aspect of painting from a hobby to a highly respected career.  While religious forms of art were still desired, they found new ways to depict how they could make these images or stories come to life.  Another high value that was influenced in this time was patrons having artists painting portraits of themselves or regarding their family, which became overly popular in the 15^th century.

            However, when paintings became the newest standard of artwork, Van Eyck’s career really took off.  It was the first time that painters were now heavily commissioned for their work from their patrons, and it opened new doors for artistic creativity.  As mentioned, there were many influences that directed how paintings were to be crafted.  Religious pieces such as the early alter-pieces have always played a large role in Renaissance art, but it gave artists the opportunity to express more than just one image, instead a collection of images that elaborated a story.  They also focused on creating images that were of everyday events that played an important role in Renaissance culture and sometimes even reflected art of an accomplished victory during a battle.  But soon after this stage, many painters transformed their skills into portrait paintings, usually suggested by the patron of the artist at the time.

            One thing that I believe really separated North Renaissance from the rest was the extreme attention to detail that the artists put into their masterpieces.  It was here that figures like Van Eyck really etched a name in what could be considered even in today’s standards as artwork that has more detail than a photograph.