Considered part of the Northern Renaissance, German Renaissance developed in the 15th and 16th centuries among German thinkers who had traveled to Italy, the cradle of the movement, and had been inspired to import it to Germany. Humanism exerted a strong influence over the arts and sciences in several German principalities, and coincided with a period of political development.
Painting was one of the most prominent ways of artistic expression within the German Renaissance. Also, publishing and printmaking were two areas which developed significantly throughout this period. German art was deeply influenced by its Gothic past, but many painters became increasingly more interested in fusing these Gothic elements with newer developments. Two of the most important figures of German visual arts were Konrad Witz, a conservative German painter who was less keen on adopting Italian trends, and Albrecht Durer who was both a painter and a graphic master. In fact, it was Durer who laregely contributed to the birth of a real German Renaissance.
French Renaissance was slow to develop in comparison to Spain or Germany. It was not until the early 16th century, when King Francis I hired several...
French Renaissance was synonymous to the birth of absolutism, the spread of humanistic values, and the importing of new techniques in several artistic areas such as painting, architecture, sculpture, and literature to name only a few. France contributed to the phenomenon of the Renaissance by elaborating new codes of etiquette, as well as developing the art of discourse.
We can conclude that although the Renaissance emerged in Italy, other European countries soon followed in its footsteps, and adopted the advancements in art and science, as well as philosophy that Italian Renaissance had put forth. Moreover, the movement was also enriched by the cultural background of the countries it spread to.
Works Cited
Guisepi, R.A.. "Beginning and Progress of the Renaissance." University of California. Available at http://history-world.org/renaissance.htm. Accessed 3 November, 2008.
Hulme, Edward Maslin "The Revival of Art." In the Renaissance, the Protestant Revolution, and the Catholic Reformation in Continental Europe, 108-124. Revised ed. New York: D. Appleton-Century, 1915.
