Northern Renaissance

1420–1580

Flemish and German masters who pioneered oil painting, achieving supernatural luminosity through layered glazes.

Oil on oak panels with chalk-glue grounds. Pigments in linseed/walnut oil applied as thin translucent glazes.

4 artists24 colors

Jan van Eyck

1390–1441

Flemish

Perfected oil painting. The Ghent Altarpiece's luminosity remains unmatched.

Ultra-thin oil glazes over white chalk ground — light passes through layers and reflects back, like stained glass.

1471–1528

German

Supreme German Renaissance artist. Master printmaker who brought Italian principles north.

Worked in watercolor, oil, and engraving. Combined Flemish precision with Venetian warmth.

1450–1516

Netherlandish

Visionary of hellscapes and earthly delights. Imagery without precedent or true successor.

Flemish oil on oak panels but applied to hallucinatory subjects. Palette shifts from naturalistic paradise to lurid hell.

1525–1569

Flemish

Painter of peasant life and landscapes of extraordinary scope. Captured full cycle of seasons.

Palette reflects Northern European landscape — cool greens, grey skies, earth browns, famous snow whites.

If this palette inspired you, here’s what to paint with.

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