by Mary Beougher

Created on: August 23, 2010

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that took place from the 14th to the 17th century. It is believed to have begun in Florence, Italy in the late Middle Ages, aided by the political and civil structure of the city, the patronage of the powerful Medici family, and the migration of Greek scholars and their texts after the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks. The movement focused on a return to the concept of humanism, which centers on humans and their values, capacities, and worth. The Renaissance affected literature, philosophy, religion, science, politics, and art. Its two main divisions are the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance, although the later covers a much larger area and even though every country had its own regional differences, it is still more convenient to speak of them together since they are similar and all were different from what characterized the movement in Italy.

Although the Renaissance affected every aspect of culture throughout Europe, it is the art we think of most often when we hear the word  and the exploits of  the “Renaissance Man”, such as the most famous of them, Leonardo da Vinci. The Renaissance produced some of the most famous artwork ever made, works that are studied extensively even to this day, and although they are under the same movement of humanism, there is a marked difference between what came out of the Italian Renaissance and the Northern Renaissance.

The Italian Renaissance can be thought of as loftier, more idealistic than the Northern Renaissance, which focused more on the common man and the everyday realities of life. These ideals and concerns heavily influenced the subject matter of the art produced under each movement. Italian Renaissance art focused on classical Greek and Roman mythology, like Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. Northern Renaissance art turned its attention to portraits and domestic scenes, the most famous of which is Jan van Eyck’s Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife.

Across the entire span of the Renaissance are works of a religious nature, although it is still possible to pick out the ones from the Italian movement and the ones from the Northern movement. The best works to contrast are two by the same name by two very different artists. Taking a look at The Last Judgment from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, we see that the focus is on the Kingdom of Heaven and the saints who are with God. In The Last Judgment by

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