Giotto di Bondone(c.1267-1337)

“Father of Renaissance Painting”

The Madonna in Majesty (Maestà), Cimabue, 1285-86Tempera on panel, 385 x 223 cmGalleria degli Uffizi, Florence

• Young Giotto apprenticed in the workshop of Cimabue, the great Florentine painter of the time.

• When Giotto’s skill surpassed that of his master, Cimabue helped his star pupil set up his own workshop.

Christ the PantocratorCathedral of Monreale, c. 1190Artist not known

• Byzantine artists did not attempt to imitate reality.

• Their scenes lacked depth.

• There is no definite light source.

• Their goal was to teach the Christian faith.

Note how Cimabue’s Madonna Maestà differs from

the one painted by Giotto about 25 years later.

Legend of St Francis: St Francis Giving his Mantle

to a Poor Man, 1297-99Fresco, 270 x 230 cm

Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

• Giotto had probably already been to Assisi while apprenticed to Cimabue.

• Some time around 1290, he returned to paint the life story of St. Francis.

Scenes from the Life of the Virgin: Visitation, 1306Fresco, 150 x 140 cm Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

• The fresco cycle in the Arena Chapel at Padua is considered to be Giotto’s greatest work.

• It was commissioned by the richest citizen of Padua and dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Scenes from the Life of Christ: Nativity: Birth of Jesus, 1304-06, Fresco, 200 x 185 cm Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

No. 29 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 13. Last Supper, 1304-06, Fresco, 200 x 185 cm, Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

Scenes from the Life of Christ: Lamentation (The Mourning of Christ), 1304-06, Fresco, 200 x 185 cm , Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

Scenes from the Life of Christ: Lamentation (The Mourning of Christ), detail, 1304-06, Fresco, 200 x 185 cm , Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

Scenes from the Life of Christ: Resurrection (Noli me tangere), 1304-06, Fresco, 200 x 185 cm, Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

Last Judgment (detail), 1306, FrescoCappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

• Giotto included a portrait of Scrovengni in his fresco of the Last Judgment.

• He is shown offering the church that he has commissioned to three Marys.

Scenes from the Life of Saint Francis: Death and Ascension of St Francis (detail), c. 1325, Fresco Bardi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

Campanile de Giotto, Florence

• In 1334, Giotto, as the greatest living artist, was appointed architect to the cathedral in Florence.

• In the last three years of his life, he planned and began building the bell tower (campanile).

• It was not finished until after his death, in 1357.