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Book of Hours, tempera, page of illuminated manuscript, Flanders

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Book of Hours, tempera, page of illuminated manuscript, Flanders

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Public domain photo of a golden object, Europe, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description

The Annunciation is a biblical event in which the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary to announce that she had been chosen to give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. The event is recorded in the New Testament in the Gospels of Luke and is a central moment in the story of the Nativity of Jesus. The scene typically depicts Mary and Gabriel, who is usually shown holding a lily, a symbol of purity, and announcing the news of the birth of Jesus to Mary.

The term "Northern Renaissance" refers to the art development of c.1430-1580 in the Netherlands Low Countries and Germany. The Low Countries, particularly Flanders with cities Antwerp, Ghent, and Bruges, were, along with Florence, the most economically advanced region in Europe. As in Florence, urban culture peaked here. The common understanding of the Renaissance places the birth of the Renaissance in Florence, Italy. Rennaisance's ideas migrated to Germany from Italy because of the travels of Albrecht Dϋrer. Northern artists such as Jan van Eyck remained attached to Medieval traditions. In their paintings, Low Countries painters attempted to reproduce space, color, volume, and light as naturalistically as possible. They achieved the perfection of oil paint in the almost impossible representation of things and objects. Rather than draw upon Classical Greek and Roman aesthetics like their Italian counterparts, Northern European Renaissance artists retained a Gothic sensibility of woodblock printing and illuminated manuscripts which clearly distinguished Northern Rennaisance art from Italian. Unlike Italian artists, northern painters were not interested in rediscovering the spirit of ancient Greece. Instead, they sought to exploit the full potential of oil paint, and capture nature exactly as they found it. Unlike their Italian counterparts, who embraced a mathematically calculated linear perspective and constructed a picture from within, Dutch artists used an empirical perspective with precise observation and knowledge of the consistency of light and things. They painted as they saw and came very close to the effect of central perspective. Long before Leonardo, they invented aerial and color perspectives. More, as with real-world human vision, their far-away shapes lose contours, and the intensity of the colors fades to a bluish hue. Robert Campin (c.1378-1444), was noted for works like the Seilern Triptych (1410) and the Merode Altarpiece (1425); Jan van Eyck (1390-1441) was noted for the Ghent Altarpiece (1432) and The Arnolfini Marriage (1434); Jan Eyck's pupil Petrus Christus (c.1410-75), best known for his Portrait of a Young Girl (1470, Gemaldegalerie, Berlin); Roger Van der Weyden (1400-64) noted for his extraordinary realism as in his masterpiece Descent From the Cross (Deposition) (1435), for the Church of Notre Dame du Dehors (now in the Museo del Prado, Madrid); Dieric Bouts (1420-75) for his devotional pictures; Hugo Van Der Goes (1440-82) famous for The Portinari Altarpiece (1475) which influenced the Early Renaissance in Florence; Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) noted for The Garden of Earthly Delights (1510-15) and other moralizing works; Joachim Patenier (1485-1524) the pioneer landscape painter; and Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525-1569) known for landscape narratives such as The Tower of Babel (1563).

Simon Bening was a Flemish miniaturist who lived during the Renaissance. He was born in Ghent, Belgium around 1483 and died in Bruges, Belgium in 1561. Bening was the son of Alexander Bening, also a miniaturist, and learned the art of illumination from his father. Bening is known for his exquisite illuminated manuscripts, which were highly sought after by the rich and powerful of his time. He worked for several royal and noble families, including the Habsburgs, the Tudors and the Medici. Bening's style was characterised by his attention to detail and his use of vibrant colours. He often incorporated gold leaf into his works, giving them a luxurious and ornate appearance. His illustrations were inspired by classical mythology, biblical stories and contemporary events. One of Bening's most famous works is the "Book of Hours" for Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, now in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The book contains over 200 pages of intricate illustrations and text and is considered one of the finest examples of Flemish manuscript illumination. Bening's legacy continues to inspire artists today, and his works can be found in museums and private collections around the world.

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Date

1525 - 1535
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Source

Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication ("CCO 1.0 Dedication")

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