Painting #116 - Northern Mannerism

North European Renaissance 

Northern Mannerism

Portrait of a Merchant 
- Jan Gossaert (c.1478–1532, Netherlandish)
- oil on panel (64 x 48 cm) c.1530
- National Gallery of Art (Washington) 

Danae
- Jan Gossaert
- oil tempera on oak panel (114 x 95 cm) 1527
- Alte Pinakothek (Maxvorstadt, Germany) 

St Luke Painting the Madonna
- Jan Gossaert
- oil on oak wood (110 × 82 cm) 1520
- Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna)  

French Renaissance

François I, King of France
- Jean Clouet (1480–1541, French) 
- oil on panel (96 x 74 cm) c.1530
- Louvre (Paris)  

François I (1494-1515-1547) started the arts collections at Louvre. A prodigal patron of the arts, he initiated the French Renaissance by attracting many Italian artists to work on the Château de Chambord, including Leonardo da Vinci, who brought the Mona Lisa with him, which Francis had acquired.

Diana the Huntress
- School of Fontainebleau (c.1530–c.1610, French) 
- oil on canvas (190 x 132 cm) 1550-60
- Louvre  (Paris)  

The Ecole de Fontainebleau refers to two periods of artistic production in France during the late Renaissance centered around the royal Château de Fontainebleau, that were crucial in forming the French version of Northern Mannerism.

The Abduction of Helen
- Francesco Primaticcio (1504–1570, Italian) at Fontainebleau
- oil on canvas (155 x 188 cm) 1530/39
- Bowes Museum (Barnard Castle, UK) 

“In western painting, the journey of Helen (King Sparta's queen) to Troy is usually depicted as a forced abduction by Paris (a prince of Troy). The Rape of Helen by Francesco Primaticcio is representative of this tradition.

“In Guido Reni's homonymous painting (1631, Louvre, Paris), however, (handsome) Paris holds (pretty) Helen by her wrist, and leave together for Troia.”

The Love of Helen and Paris
- Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825, French)
- oil on canvas (181 x 146 cm) 1788
- Louvre (Paris) 

Netherlands Mannerism

The Judgement of Paris
(with the wedding feast of the gods in the background)
- Joachim Wtewael (1566–1638, Dutch)
  - oil on oak (60 x 79 cm) 1615
- National Gallery (London) 

The Judgement of Paris is a story from Greek mythology, in which Paris had to judge which of the three beautiful women in front of him was the most beautiful.
     Greek mythology: aided by Venus, shepherd Paris (Prince of Troy actually) won the heart of Helen (Queen of Spectacus), who then deserted her family for Troy. The King of Spartacus waged the Trojan War.

Vulcanus and Maia
- Bartholomeus Spranger (1546-1611, Flemish)
- oil (23 x 18 cm) c.1590
- Kunsthistorisches Museum (Weep)  

Allegory of the Seven Liberal Arts
- Maerten de Vos  (1532–1603, Flemish)
- oil on oak panel  (147 x 200 cm)  1590
- Private collection 

During the Middle Ages, the liberal arts were central to university education. The seven liberal arts were taught in two groups: the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and then the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music).

Reformation 

Jean Calvin at fifty-three years old
- René Boyvin (1525?-1598?) 1562
- Bibliothèque de Genève 

John Calvin (1509–1564, French) was a theologian, pastor and  reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism.

Portrait of Catherine de' Medici
- François Clouet
- watercolor on vellum/cardboard (miniature) c.1555
- Victoria and Albert Museum  (London) 

Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589, Italian) was

▪ [1547-1559]: queen consort of King Henry II (1519-1547-1559) France, by marriage, and

▪ [1559-1589]: Queen mother of kings Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III.

The years during which her sons reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici" as she had extensive, if at times varying, influence in the political life of France.
     She came to be blamed for the excessive persecutions carried out under her sons' rule, in particular for the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572, in which thousands of Huguenots were killed in Paris and throughout France.

St. Bartholomew's Day massacre 1572
- François Dubois (1529–1584, French)
- oil on panel (94 × 154 cm) c.1529
- Cantonal Museum (Lausanne)

“In this woodcut, we see Protestant propaganda contrasting the sermon – verbal communication – with the material practice of Catholic devotion..... While Protestants prayed with books and pamphlets, Catholic would rely on the rosary, saints, and images.”   Media & Religion 

Evangelical and Catholic Sermon, 1529
- George Pencz (c.1500-1550, German painter and engraver)
- Hans Sachs (1494-1576, German supporter of Protestant Reformation) 

Eventually, both sides reach an agreement: a state will follow the faith of its monarch.

Source: Wikipedia