The Northern Renaissance
Flemish painters were relatively uninspired by the mythological subjects and classical symmetries of Italian art. Most of the Early Renaissance art in the north was devoted to religious subjects, as northern artists experimented with increasingly realistic detail and the optical illusions of atmospheric perspective.
(1400 - 1599)
In France, artists were employed by the secular courts of the dukes of Berry, Bourbon, and Nemours. These artists followed the lead of the Flemish masters, especially in the development of realistic portraiture, but they were slower to master the use of oil paints. German artists were deeply under the influence of the Flemish masters, and they continued to emphasise the flambouyant Gothic forms and frieze-like compositions of the middle ages. But the middle of the fifteenth century, the influence of the Flemish masters had spread as far south as Spain.
contributed by Gifford, Katya
12 April 2002