Ch. 10 Review Questions

1. Describe three differences between Renaissance painting of Northern Europe and that of Italy. One difference between the Renaissance paintings of Northern Europe and that of Italy was the development of oil paint. Oil paint allowed artists of the North to paint more detailed paintings. This new type of paint allowed more colors and values to develop for artists. The paintings of the Northern Renaissance use light more realistically than those of Italy due to the development of oil paint. Oil paint allowed Northern paintings to be more detailed and more realistic because the paint let the lines be more precise. Northern Renaissance artists incorporated everyday objects into their paintings. Compared to the Italian Renaissance, the Northern Renaissance painters would use everyday objects as symbols. Italian painters would use classical objects that emphasized the idea of a “rebirth” of classical thought. The Northern Renaissance seemed to emphasize less about classical Greek and Roman thought. Instead, it seemed as though they used their own culture and incorporated it into their paintings. In Northern Renaissance paintings, there are little ideas about Greek and Roman thought.
3. Discuss how the paintings of Bruegel and Bosch are alike. The paintings of Bruegel and Bosch are alike because both painters include tons of people in their paintings. Both of their paintings are very busy and very detailed. I find that you could look at Bruegel and Bosch’s paintings for a very long time, and find new objects the more you look. Pieter Bruegel’s painting The Tower of Babel is similar to Bosch’s painting Garden of Delights because both are filled with people and detail. Bruegel has less people, but it is still extremely detailed. In Bruegel’s painting The Return of the Hunters, there are also many figures in the foreground and in the background. Both paintings seem to go far into the distance, creating a lot of depth, which makes both painters use a lot of detail.
3. Compare El Escorial with an Italian Renaissance building you have studied. El Escorial and the Duomo, designed by Brunelleschi, are two different buildings. El Escorial was designed during in the Northern Renaissance in Spain, while the Duomo was designed during the Italian Renaissance. El Escorial is a palace along with a church. The church has a dome in the middle of the huge building. El Escorial is a massive building. It gives off the feeling of gloominess and plainness. There seems to be no happiness coming from the building. The color and the mass of the building make the viewer feel unwelcome. The dome in El Escorial gives off the same message. It seems gloomy and overbearing because of the height. The Duomo is gives off a different feeling to the viewer. This dome is more inviting, even though the size of it is massive. The warm orangey/red color of the roof makes this dome less overpowering and more inviting.