Northern European Art from the Fifteenth Century

After looking over everything that we have learned about this quarter, I am amazed. We have gone over so many great eras of art as well as artists and styles. What stood out to me the most and still continues to cross my mind from time to time is the art created in the fifteenth century in Northern Europe.
    
I found myself mostly intrigued with the great attention to detail, naturalism, an humanism that was used. I still cannot wrap my mind around how much time, thought, and experimenting went into many of these paintings. A great example of the use of naturalism and humanism is Jean Van Eyck's "Ghent Altarpiece." Directly in the middle, on the top half of this piece sits a depiction of Christ the King. When you look at this specific part closer, you'll notice how real the gems and the gold looks on Christ the Kings attire. Van Eyck found a way to make the jewels shine and pop out as any real jewel would. Each jewel is also very small and there are so many of them. It amazes me how each one also has that shine and that detail, which must have taken time to achieve. At the bottom sits a crown and we can see light reflecting on it, giving it a shine and a very worthy appearance. Even the way that the King's robe falls is so realistic and gives us that sense of depth and naturalism. 

Another piece within this period that I find myself in awe with is, Claus Sluter's "Well of Moses." Again, we see the great use of naturalism, humanism and detail. The hair, the wrinkles within the faces, and the hanging fabric are all done so well and look so real. This piece really stands out to me too because it's a sculpture. There are so many fine lines and small details within this piece that Sluter somehow manages to create through sculpting. I have taken a sculpting class before and I put a lot of work and time into each of my pieces and when I look at a piece like this, I feel that it would take me a lifetime to include all of the detail that Sluter included. I especially enjoy how each figure stands out from the pillar behind. To me, it looks as if they all could just step down and walk off. 

Overall, I find that I really appreciate these specific pieces and many others from this area and time period because of how much detail as well as time and pride were put into these pieces. Because these pieces appear to be successfully done, I feel that the artists made sure that they would be proud of their own work and because of that, I appreciate what I see and most of all, I enjoy what I see.