Giotto di
Bondone
(c.1267-1337)
“Father of
Renaissance
Painting”
• 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.
The Madonna in Majesty (Maestà), Cimabue,
1285-86
Tempera on panel, 385 x 223 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
• 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.
Christ the Pantocrator
Cathedral of Monreale, c. 1190
Artist not known
Note how Cimabue’s
Madonna Maestà differs from
the one painted by Giotto
about 25 years later.
• 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.
Legend of St Francis: St
Francis Giving his Mantle
to a Poor Man, 1297-99
Fresco, 270 x 230 cm
Upper Church, San
Francesco, Assisi
Scenes from the Life of the Virgin:
Visitation, 1306
Fresco, 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
• 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.
Last Judgment (detail), 1306, Fresco
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel),
Padua
Scenes from the Life of Saint Francis: Death and Ascension of St Francis
(detail), c. 1325, Fresco Bardi Chapel, Santa Croce, 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.
Campanile de Giotto, Florence