For centuries, it was assumed that Cimabue was Giotto’s master, but that has now been thrown into doubt and some suggest that they were simply rivals. The confusion may have arisen because of a reference to the artists by Dante in his great narrative poem, The Divine Comedy: “Of painters, Cimabue deemed his name unrivaled once; now Giotto is in fashion and has eclipsed his predecessor’s fame.” Whatever the truth, Cimabue’s move toward greater naturalism clearly inspired Giotto.
Key Works
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Eight Angels and Four Prophets (Maestà) 1280, GALLERIA DEGLI UFFIZI, FLORENCE, ITALY
Crucifix 1287–8, BASILICA DI SANTA CROCE, FLORENCE, ITALY
Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Angels c.1300, SANTA MARIA DEI SERVI, BOLOGNA, ITALY
St. John the Baptist 1301, OPERA DEL DUOMO, PISA, ITALY
DUCCIO
c.1215–1319 • GOTHIC, BYZANTINE STYLE, SIENESE SCHOOL
Rucellai Madonna
1285 TEMPERA ON WOOD
450 × 290 CM (177 × 114 IN)
GALLERIA DEGLI UFFIZI, FLORENCE, ITALY
In 1285 Duccio was commissioned to paint a large altarpiece now known as the Rucellai Madonna in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. Retaining Byzantine traditions of painting the images as decorative symbols, Duccio has also imparted a poetic delicacy and naturalism to the figures.
Probably the greatest painter of Medieval Siena, Duccio di Buoninsegna combined formal Byzantine traditions with realistic elements, which made his art more accessible than that of his predecessors.
With no surviving contemporary accounts or personally written documents, not a great deal is known about Duccio’s life. Through civic records however, we know that he lived in Siena, which at the time was the capital of one of Italy’s northern states and Florence’s major rival. Duccio is first recorded in 1278 and 1279 as working for the commune—a Medieval form of government in northern Italy. In 1285 he was commissioned to paint a large panel for the Florentine church of Santa Maria Novella for the wealthy Rucellai family, which became known as the Rucellai Madonna.
As the principal aim of art was to express strong religious beliefs in a highly decorative and spiritual way, Duccio followed the Byzantine tradition, as all Italian artists did. Figures were intentionally two-dimensional and little attempt was made to represent them or their surroundings realistically. Yet Duccio also introduced something different. At about the same time as Cimabue in Florence, Duccio’s work also began to express the idea of living, three-dimensional figures. Although he continued to paint stylized figures against golden backgrounds, he also subtly introduced an impression of movement. Color too, was important to him and he created harmonious arrangements, rather than simply using separate colors to define discrete figures. The differences between Duccio’s work and that of his predecessors were astounding at the time, and his work was enthusiastically received because it conveyed warmth and religious feeling in a far more accessible way than the flat, decorative art that everyone was used to.
Key Works
Maestà (front, central panel) 1308–11, MUSEO DELL’OPERA DEL DUOMO, SIENA, ITALY
Maestà 1288–1300, KUNSTMUSEUM, BERN, SWITZERLAND
Madonna and Child c.1300, METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, US
Triptych, the Virgin and Child with Saints Dominic and Aurea c.1315, NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON, UK
GIOTTO
1267–1337 • EARLY RENAISSANCE
The Lamentation
1304–6 FRESCO
200 × 185 CM (78¾ × 73 IN)
CAPELLA SCROVEGNI (ARENA CHAPEL), PADUA, ITALY
In contrast with the flat, expressionless paintings of Byzantine art, Giotto created a more realistic style that made the biblical events seem more real to viewers. The diagonal rock focuses attention on the group of mourners. Christ’s body has been taken from the Cross and disciples cluster round in grief. Mary cradles her son on her lap; Mary Magdalene holds his feet; John the Baptist throws out his arms in anguish and mourners weep on the ground, while angels weep in the sky. In front of Christ’s body are two cloaked figures, their backs toward us—this draws viewers into the picture.
It is not certain whether Giotto was Cimabue’s pupil, but his talents as an outstanding painter, sculptor and architect were recognized during his lifetime. By moving away entirely from the stylized formality of artistic tradition, and giving his figures greater movement and credibility, his work had a profound influence on European art.
Giotto lived and worked in Florence during a period when religious subjects and styles had been laid down by centuries of tradition. As the first artist to depict human emotion, his influence set Western art on a path to the Renaissance. By making his images more natural, he gave moral weight to religious stories, rather than the usual displays of heavenly splendor. Other artists at this time copied their compositions and figures from earlier paintings, but Giotto moved away from the static, two-dimensional images of Byzantine and Gothic art.
Born into a farming family near Florence, most of Giotto’s life was spent in Florence, but he also worked in Padua, Naples, Avignon, Bologna, Assisi and Rome. He mainly used the fresco technique, a method of wall painting in which water-based pigment was applied directly on to wet lime plaster. The paint and plaster then fused together as they dried and became part of the fabric of the building. Giotto’s frescoes became so well-known that he had to use several assistants to complete all his commissions. His patrons included rich merchants and bankers as well as the Pope, the king of Naples and the Franciscan monks in Assisi.
One of Giotto’s innovations was the placing of characters in natural-looking locations that depicted the real world; he also replaced traditional gold backgrounds with blue skies. Another revolution was the introduction of secular life into religious themes. He also emphasized physical characteristics in his figures, portraying the shape and weight of bodies under heavy clothing using light and shadow. Although, like other contemporary artists, he lacked specific knowledge of anatomy and perspective, his figures looked substantial and worldly, rather than decorative and symbolic. More than those of any other artist of his time, Giotto’s figures seemed alive, physically and emotionally, and because his methods told biblical stories in this new, humanist way, his works became a source of education, enlightenment and entertainment.
Giotto’s earliest known works were commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni, a member of a wealthy banking family in Padua. He decorated the Capella degli Scrovegni (Scrovegni Chapel) with brightly colored, expressive scenes from the lives of the parents of the Virgin Mary, Joachim and Anna, Mary herself and Jesus. The compositions were vividly colorful, simple and dramatic, and through them the chapel displayed a powerful narrative of the lives of Christ’s family. The stories were clear, human and easy to understand, even by the illiterate congregation who prayed in the chapel each week. These frescoes, with their empathy and imagination, made Giotto the most famous and sought-after artist in Italy.
Key Works
The Vision of the Chariot of Fire 1295–1300, ST FRANCIS, UPPER CHURCH, ASSISI, ITALY