Northern Renaissance Art Trivia Quiz

Answer: a high degree of anatomical detail

Because manuscript illuminations appeared in books before the printing press was invented, they were only available to the wealthy few. Consequently, the style that pervades them emphasizes the material wealth and status of the individual for whom the illuminated manuscript is made through a detailed attention to physical reality.

Answer: Mary's virginity

Often, in early Netherlandish painting, symbolism is disguised to allow for a greater naturalism within the scene. Therefore, in contrast to earlier periods, symbols appear in the form of objects found in the natural world, such as the lily.

Answer: The new Christian order

While the Romanesque architecture present in this and other paintings of the Annunciation represents the old order of the Old Testament, the Gothic architecture symbolizes the new order that begins with the coming of Christ.

Answer: The healer of the sick

The Cult of the Virgin, popular during this period, emphasizes Mary's dual role as both the human mother of Christ and the divine queen of heaven. In addition, Mary is also often depicted as the second Eve, who redeems the original sin of the first.

Answer: Jan Van Eyck was here

The unusually worded, large signature may be evidence that this painting was meant as a marriage certificate for the couple. Their marriage is witnessed by Van Eyck, as well as another witness he includes in the reflection in the mirror.

Answer: a hospital

The Last Judgement triptych, commissioned for the Beaune hospital, was positioned in the hospital chapel so that all of the patients could see it from their beds as they contemplated their own deaths and the afterlife.

Answer: No one in the painting is looking directly at the virgin.

Though the Van Der Goes paints a crowd of people around the Virgin Mary's bedside as she lies dying, no one in the painting is looking directly at her. They all seem to be emotionally disconnected from one another. This disconcerting depiction may be evidence of Van Der Goes' mental illness.

Answer: Eucharist

The theme of the Ghent Altarpiece is the sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of humanity, remembered in the sacrament of the Eucharist: for example, a central axis leads down the middle of the interior from Christ in majesty to a sacrificial lamb, which symbolizes Christ, to the tabernacle for the Eucharist in the church.

Answer: Rogier van der Weyden

Though van der Weyden's work does appear to be influenced by Van Eyck, he was taught by Campin.

Answer: It is evidence that Van Eyck drew from life.

The drawing, which probably served as a model for a later painting of Albergati, is evidence that Van Eyck might have used life drawings to create his portrait paintings, setting a precedence for a long tradition of preparatory drawings for portraits and other types of paintings in the following centuries.