Northern Painting from Pucelle to Bruegel: Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Centuries

by Charles D. Cuttler

Looks at fourteenth-, fifteenth-, and sixteenth-century European art north of the Alps, and discusses the paintings of artists such as Van Eyck, Bosch, Durer, and Bruegel

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Renaissance, Reference, Medieval, History

Paperback

First published June 1, 1968

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a dense almost clinical textbook with practically all b/w plates. Luckily our prof, Marvin Eisenberg, was anything but dense or clinical. We studied work from Belgium, Flanders, France, The Netherlands, Germany and Spain. Captivated by French illumination and painting in the time of Jean de Berry, the history of engraving in France and the Netherlands, book illustrations from the 1500's and Albrect Durer's woodcuts, appreciation grew for The Master of Flemalle and the Van Eycks. We studied Greek and Roman heroes and legends, medieval history and religious iconography in the works of Petrus Cristus, Rogier Van der Weyden, Hans Memlinc (I mistakenly call him Memling), Hieronymous Bosch and Martin Schongauer. The Holbeins and Flemish mannerists Jan Gossart and Joos van Cleve and Dutch mannerist Lucas ban Leyden lead the way south to 16th C. Italy. Our course bibliography was in French, Flemish, Dutch, German and Latin. Regional collections, graphic collections, journals and articles lead to expeditions to Chantilly to see the Tres Riche Heures of the Duke of Berry (when you could actually look at them, I gather this is no longer possible), To Ghent for the altarpiece and to the beautiful city of Bruges for what I believe was a tiny museum with a collection of Durer etchings.

[Cornelis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classical textbook from 1968 with many illustrations. Too bad that Erasmus - who was most disappointed by Dürer's portraits - is only marginally mentioned.