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Northern Renaissance Art
This book offers a wide-ranging introduction to the way that art was made, valued, and viewed in northern Europe in the age of the Renaissance, from the late fourteenth to the early years of the sixteenth century. Drawing on a rich range of sources, from inventories and guild regulations to poetry and chronicles, it examines everything from panel paintings to carved altarpieces.
While many little-known works are foregrounded, Susie Nash also presents new ways of viewing and understanding the more familiar, such as the paintings of Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, and Hans Memling, by considering the social and economic context of their creation and reception. Throughout, Nash challenges the perception that Italy was the European leader in artistic innovation at this time, demonstrating forcefully that Northern art, and particularly that of the Southern Netherlands, dominated visual culture throughout Europe in this crucial period.
While many little-known works are foregrounded, Susie Nash also presents new ways of viewing and understanding the more familiar, such as the paintings of Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, and Hans Memling, by considering the social and economic context of their creation and reception. Throughout, Nash challenges the perception that Italy was the European leader in artistic innovation at this time, demonstrating forcefully that Northern art, and particularly that of the Southern Netherlands, dominated visual culture throughout Europe in this crucial period.
368 pages, Paperback
First published November 27, 2008
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About the author
Susie Nash
7 books1 followerProfessor at The Courtauld Institute of Art since 2010. She publishes and teaches on late medieval and early Renaissance Art.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 20, 2013
This is a parallel volume to Evelyn Welch’s Art in Renaissance Italy (1350-1500) within the Oxford History of Art series. Apart from the time frame, they share a similar approach. These books do not narrate the period chronographically, nor do they analyze the style of the artists, nor focus on their lives. They concentrate on the material aspects of the production.
These are welcomed contributions, since so much has been written already on Renaissance style and strings of monographs have also been published. So far there has been less attention devoted to aspects such as the functioning of guilds, the relations between patrons and artists, circulation and marketing of the works, organization of workshops, origins and handling of materials and religious and social uses of the objects, etc…
Susie Nash insists that the fact that two separate volumes have been devoted to the art of this period, thereby perpetuating the conception of two separate traditions, is somewhat contrived. She reminds us that the geographies of North and South were not that separate. There was a great deal of Trade. Art objects and people moved from North to South and vice-versa readily, if not easily. The political map of Europe was drawn very differently from the way it is today. Royal marriages and other alliances established links among physically separate lands uniting them culturally. The Duchy of Burgundy, with its lands in the current Belgium and Netherlands in addition to Burgundy, and the fact that this terrain was adjoined to Spain in late 15th century, means that Spain was closer culturally to Flanders than to neighboring Italy.
There are some drawbacks to this book. The editors have wanted to publish an accessible series and have produced volumes which are too small to my taste. The choice of illustrations is magnificent and the quality of reproductions is high. But they are very small, and there is little room to be able to include its location in their labels. Since I find this irritating, I have had to add in pencil underneath each illustration, the current whereabouts listed only at the end of the book. This was worthwhile but laborious.
And what seems like another drawback is really the result of another quality. Susie Nash has chosen her illustrations so well, and they are so very well interspersed in her text that any one illustration becomes an example several times as she develops her various themes. This means that reading her book with attention demands flicking through the pages backwards and forwards continually, and when one is in the in the middle of a sentence it can be irritating. The best consolation for the lazy reader, like me, is to realize that the effort must have been much harder for Nash. She has not included any object that she has not personally seen. And as she has not limited herself to the major art collections in European capitals, this has meant a considerable number of trips to small churches and museums in the various provincial towns across Europe. This is to be applauded.
The book is the fruit of so much research that it is inevitably loaded with it. This detracts from its readability and one craves sometimes for more art-looking, which Nash can also do so very well. There are many examples of how carefully she has looked at these paintings, but the one I like the most is her pointing at the different treatment of reflections on shiny surfaces as seen in Van Eyck and Memling. Van der Weyden did not care for them. While Van Eyck was the first master to treat them (the Arnolfini Marriage). But if Van Eyck, by reflecting in the painting persons or things outside of the painting--like the painter himself--, draws attention to the artificiality of the image, Memling (The Two St John’s Altarpiece) only shows reflections of things and persons who are inside the painting, expanding the space and presence in which these figures exist.
This is all in all, an excellent book, but has to be a companion in one’s bookshelf to other books on Northern Renaissance painting.
These are welcomed contributions, since so much has been written already on Renaissance style and strings of monographs have also been published. So far there has been less attention devoted to aspects such as the functioning of guilds, the relations between patrons and artists, circulation and marketing of the works, organization of workshops, origins and handling of materials and religious and social uses of the objects, etc…
Susie Nash insists that the fact that two separate volumes have been devoted to the art of this period, thereby perpetuating the conception of two separate traditions, is somewhat contrived. She reminds us that the geographies of North and South were not that separate. There was a great deal of Trade. Art objects and people moved from North to South and vice-versa readily, if not easily. The political map of Europe was drawn very differently from the way it is today. Royal marriages and other alliances established links among physically separate lands uniting them culturally. The Duchy of Burgundy, with its lands in the current Belgium and Netherlands in addition to Burgundy, and the fact that this terrain was adjoined to Spain in late 15th century, means that Spain was closer culturally to Flanders than to neighboring Italy.
There are some drawbacks to this book. The editors have wanted to publish an accessible series and have produced volumes which are too small to my taste. The choice of illustrations is magnificent and the quality of reproductions is high. But they are very small, and there is little room to be able to include its location in their labels. Since I find this irritating, I have had to add in pencil underneath each illustration, the current whereabouts listed only at the end of the book. This was worthwhile but laborious.
And what seems like another drawback is really the result of another quality. Susie Nash has chosen her illustrations so well, and they are so very well interspersed in her text that any one illustration becomes an example several times as she develops her various themes. This means that reading her book with attention demands flicking through the pages backwards and forwards continually, and when one is in the in the middle of a sentence it can be irritating. The best consolation for the lazy reader, like me, is to realize that the effort must have been much harder for Nash. She has not included any object that she has not personally seen. And as she has not limited herself to the major art collections in European capitals, this has meant a considerable number of trips to small churches and museums in the various provincial towns across Europe. This is to be applauded.
The book is the fruit of so much research that it is inevitably loaded with it. This detracts from its readability and one craves sometimes for more art-looking, which Nash can also do so very well. There are many examples of how carefully she has looked at these paintings, but the one I like the most is her pointing at the different treatment of reflections on shiny surfaces as seen in Van Eyck and Memling. Van der Weyden did not care for them. While Van Eyck was the first master to treat them (the Arnolfini Marriage). But if Van Eyck, by reflecting in the painting persons or things outside of the painting--like the painter himself--, draws attention to the artificiality of the image, Memling (The Two St John’s Altarpiece) only shows reflections of things and persons who are inside the painting, expanding the space and presence in which these figures exist.
This is all in all, an excellent book, but has to be a companion in one’s bookshelf to other books on Northern Renaissance painting.
May 15, 2021
Susie Nash has written a comprehensive and informative exploration of the Art of the Northern countries of Europe. The book does not provide a historical or chronological description of the art but looks at different aspects of artistic production and functionality.
In fascinating detail, Nash looks at the way art was made, valued and viewed rather than simply telling the story of the art and the artist. She shows the significance of Northern art in the context of European art history and recognises its place in the context of the wider Renaissance.
Susie Nash has done a huge amount of research and is able to see the connections that exist between different artists and art which comes from extensive knowledge, expertise and experience. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of art.
In fascinating detail, Nash looks at the way art was made, valued and viewed rather than simply telling the story of the art and the artist. She shows the significance of Northern art in the context of European art history and recognises its place in the context of the wider Renaissance.
Susie Nash has done a huge amount of research and is able to see the connections that exist between different artists and art which comes from extensive knowledge, expertise and experience. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of art.
September 30, 2018
This book on Northern Renaissance art focuses on the material aspects of art and the use that was made of the artworks produced in North Western Europe during the Early Renaissance period. Most (but by no means all) the art discussed is from Netherlandish artists in the Burgundian period. Nash convincingly argues that this early Netherlandish art holds its own when compared to Italian art of the same period. This book is indispensable for art lovers (and students I would say) who like to appreciate these works either in the places they were made for or in museums. Nash makes them come alive.
October 1, 2021
A very good and comprehensive intriduction to the themes of Northern Renaissance Art. Rather than being a biographical or chronological study, it's a thematic one that sums up the main themes of research, sources and methodologies and offers, full of examples from a wide variety of sources, geographies and media, full of wonderful illustrations and complete with a bibliographical essay at the end. A must read for anyone who wants to get into the beauty that is the Northern Renaissance.
August 15, 2017
This is a really thought provoking book. The artistic and cultural aspects are very well presented. It has a breadth and depth that leads the reader to consider and learn about the why's of life at that time. I am glad I have read it.
January 14, 2023
This book talks about Netherlandish art (15th-16th century) beyond aesthetic aspects. From pre-production to post-production, some political and economic circumstances exist around it. A deeper insight into visual arts in that period.
May 23, 2025
Belle découverte des talents des peintres et artistes flamands et leurs différences de culture artistique entre le Nord versus le Sud de l’Europe à la Renaissance.
Le livre démontre ce que Michel-Ange croyait de la peinture flamande, du moins selon Vasari si on doit le croire: « Ils (les Flamands) peignent pour plaire aux yeux, mais cela ne touche pas le cœur. »
L’esthétique est en effet différente. Les artistes flamands comme Jan van Eyck ou Rogier van der Weyden utilisaient la peinture à l’huile pour créer des œuvres très détaillées, pleines de symboles religieux, mais dans un style plus “terre-à-terre”, plus quotidien. Les œuvres visent la contemplation, la spiritualité est omniprésente. L’art de la Renaissance nordique est profondément religieux.
Le livre est thématique et non pas chronologique utilisant une approche d’analyses historiques avec références détaillées. Les chapitres décrivants les désastres de la Réforme sur l’art, et sur l’organisation du travail des différents métiers en atelier sont fascinants. Et que les peintres du XVieme eux mêmes étaient les les premiers clients de l’imprimerie, qui l’eut cru?
Le livre démontre ce que Michel-Ange croyait de la peinture flamande, du moins selon Vasari si on doit le croire: « Ils (les Flamands) peignent pour plaire aux yeux, mais cela ne touche pas le cœur. »
L’esthétique est en effet différente. Les artistes flamands comme Jan van Eyck ou Rogier van der Weyden utilisaient la peinture à l’huile pour créer des œuvres très détaillées, pleines de symboles religieux, mais dans un style plus “terre-à-terre”, plus quotidien. Les œuvres visent la contemplation, la spiritualité est omniprésente. L’art de la Renaissance nordique est profondément religieux.
Le livre est thématique et non pas chronologique utilisant une approche d’analyses historiques avec références détaillées. Les chapitres décrivants les désastres de la Réforme sur l’art, et sur l’organisation du travail des différents métiers en atelier sont fascinants. Et que les peintres du XVieme eux mêmes étaient les les premiers clients de l’imprimerie, qui l’eut cru?
February 26, 2024
This is quite an awesome title for those interested in art. The photos are good, and the explanations are well written and very informative. Just how much the book covers becomes obvious when you look at how even the term Northern Renaissance is explained and the problems that come with it are explained. It is not the most detailed book on the topic, but it includes a vast corpus of art from different regions of Europe and definitely explains some. For those who want to learn more there are notes and a detailed bibliography. Due to the good quality of texts and pictures this is definitely a 5 out of 5 stars book.
November 28, 2025
Really interesting and beautifully illustrated
October 22, 2013
Not very organized. The chapters bounce around. A lot of the information in the book wasn't too helpful.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews