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Early Renaissance painting bridges the period of European art history between the art of the Middle Ages and the art of the Renaissance.

Two regions of Europe were particularly artistically active during this period: northern Europe (essentially Flanders) and Italy. The Renaissance is considered to have reached northern Europe in the 16th century. Thus, most of the Early Renaissance works in northern Europe were produced between 1420 and 1550.

1 Themes and symbolism

The works of art of this period feature mainly religious themes (the Church was the main client of these artists), but also some purely figurative themes.

The religious symbolism is largely drawn from the work of Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend ( 1260).

Some more mundane themes were treated, but they were often treated via a religious or mythological representations. For instance, Early Renaissance artists sometimes used the theme of Adam and Eve as a way to represent female and male nudes in a then morally acceptable way. Sometimes a fig leaf covered their genitals.

2 Techniques

3 Flemish artists

Main article: Flemish PrimitivesThe term Flemish Primitives is sometimes used to designate a group of painters who were active primarily in the Southern Netherlands in the 15th and early 16th centuries. Chief among them were Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Hugo van der Goes, Hans M

• Hieronymus BoschHieronymus Bosch also Jeroen Bosch (c. 1450 August 1516) was a prolific Dutch painter of the 15th and 16th century. Many of his works depict sin and human moral failings; they contain complex, highly original, imaginative, and dense use of symbolic figure (c.1460-1518)
• Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1520-1569)
• Robert CampinRobert Campin (or Master of Flemalle (c. 1380 April 26, 1444) was a Flemish Early Renaissance painter. Robert Campin was born in Tournai, in today's Belgium. External link http://www. com/C/campin/campin. html Campin, Robert Campin, Robert. (c.1380-1444)
• Petrus Christus
• Joos van Cleve
• Gerard DavidMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York Gerard David (ca. 1455 — 1523) was a Netherlandish artist known for his brilliant use of color; he was a master of the early Dutch Renaissance. David was born in Oudewater, now located in Utrecht. He spent most of his (c.1455–1523)
• Hubert van EyckHubert van Eyck (also Huybrecht van Eyck (? 1366 1426) was a Flemish painter and older brother of Jan van Eyck. Hubert was the oldest of the Van Eyck family of painters. The date of his birth and the records of his progress are lost amidst the ruins of th (1366?-1426)
• Jan van Eyck (1385?-1440?)
• Hugo van der Goes
• Adriaen IsenbrantAdriaen Isenbrant also known as Adrien Ysenbrandt (1490 1551), was a Flemish Northern Renaissance painter. Hailing from Bruges, and generally thought to be a pupil of Gerard David, he has few signed works, and many paintings previously thought to be works (c.1490-1551)
• Quentin Matsys (1466-1530)
• Hans Memling (c.1430-1494)
• Joachim Patinir
• Roger van der Weyden (c.1400-1464)