Paideía & Praxís - C1: Giotto (1266-1337)

Cycle 1: Artist Study

Giotto di Bondone (1266-1337)

In-Progress

Biography of Giotto │ More works by Giotto

“Considered one of the first of the Italian Renaissance artists, Giotto di Bondone was a talented painter and architect. Not only are his works celebrated today for their architectural style and subject matter, but he was also renowned by his contemporaries, including the Italian poets Boccaccio and Sacchetti, and Dante Alighieri, who mentioned the artist by name in his famous book The Divine Comedy. Michelango is also said to have studied his frescoes in the Peruzzi Chapel.

Giotto is most remembered for his break with the traditional Byzantine style, and by introducing the technique of drawing accurately from life. He went away with the typical Byzantine style of elongated faces and stylized clothing, and instead incorporated three-dimensional forms, based on real observation, and garments hanging naturally with real weight. All of his breaks from tradition earned him the reputation of creating a new standard of representational painting. He actively invited the viewer into the scene by creating real human faces and real emotion.

Although he is a highly renowned Italian Renaissance painter, his life is surrounded in mystery. His date of birth, place of birth, appearance, the order in which he created his works, and his burial location are all clouded in controversy. Many of the works ascribed to him may not actually be his, a fact which keeps art historians guessing at many frescoes in Italy during the period in which he was alive. Two of his works, which are known for sure to be his, are the Campanille bell tower of the Florence Cathedral and the frescoes in the Arena Chapel in Padua. The latter frescoes are considered to be one of the supreme masterpieces of the Early Renaissance period, as they incorporate both Giotto’s style as well as his interpretation of sacred bible stories."

*Source: https://www.wikiart.org/en/giotto

Week 12:

Frescoes in the Cappella Scrovegni or Arena Chapel by Giotto di Bondone (1304-1306)- Padua, Italy [Image]

The frescoes in the Arena Chapel have always been considered as Giotto's first mature masterpiece, and at the same time as an important milestone in the development of western painting. The work was commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni of Padua, the ambitious son of the rich Reginaldo (whom Dante Alighieri consigned to hell in his "Divine Comedy"). Scrovegni purchased a large piece of land in 1300, in the area around the Roman amphitheatre (known as the Arena), on which to build a palace and a private chapel. Of these buildings, only the single-nave church remains. Constructed using clear, simple forms, it is referred to mostly as the "Arena Chapel" after its location, or as the "Scrovegni Chapel" after its donor. Vaulted by a starry sky with the two centres of Christ and Mary, the Last Judgment in the west and the Annunciation in the east, witnessed by God, frame the nave of the church.

More views of the chapel here.

Week x:

Resurrection of Lazarus by Giotto di Bondone (1320s)- Lower Basilica of the Basilica de San Francesco, Assisi, Italy {Image}

Week 14:

The Nativity and Adoration by the Shepherds by Giotto di Bondone (1304-1306)- Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy [Image]

Week x:

Jesus Washes the Feet of the Apostles by Giotto di Bondone (1304-1306)- Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy {Image}

Week x:

The Allegory of Injustice by Giotto di Bondone (1306)- Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy {Image}

Week x:

Lamentation over the Death of Christ (Arena Chapel)- Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy {Image}

Week 18:

Scenes from the Life of Christ: Presentation of Christ at the Temple fresco by Giotto di Bondone (1304-1306)- Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy {Image}

Week x:

Ognissanti Madonna, Enthroned Virgin and Child by Giotto di Bondone (x)- Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

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Week 20:

Saint Francis Feeding the Birds by Giotto di Bondone (1297-1299)- Upper Basilica of the Basilica de San Francesco, Assisi, Italy {Image}

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