LATE GOTHIC PAINTING &
SCULPTURE
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Artists to Know
Cimabue
Giotto
(Florence)
Nicola Pisano
Duccio
(Siena)
Simone Martini
Lorenzettis
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
What you need to know about
Late Gothic
Late 1200s – Early 1300s
Black Death wipes out 25% of Europe
Also known as “Proto-Renaissance”
Gothic ARCHITECTURE = France
Late Gothic PAINTING = Italy
Think of Late Gothic Painting as the “Hellenistic Period” of
the High Gothic Era – Emotional, Detailed, and a more
Humanistic Connection
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
How does Late Gothic art create the bridge between Byzantine and Renaissance art?
Byzantine
Virgin and Child
Late Gothic
Virgin and Child
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Renaissance
Virgin and Child
Late Gothic Art & Painting
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Nicola Pisano
Nicola Pisano (circa 1220-c. 1284). Nicola is
thought to have been trained in the Italian
workshops of the Holy Roman emperor
Frederick II, who encouraged a Roman revival.
Nicola's carved reliefs for the pulpit of the Pisa
Baptistery were derived from figures on Roman
sarcophagi in the Camposanto of Pisa.
These carvings are outstanding for their
assimilation of the solid, three-dimensional
Roman style as well as for their corresponding
emphasis on the individuality and dignity of the
human figure. They mark a turning point in
Italian sculpture analogous to that represented
in painting by the work of Giotto.
Nicola Pisano, Pisa Baptistry Pulpit, 1260.
LATE GOTHIC
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Nicola Pisano, Siena Baptistry Pulpit, 1260. LATE GOTHIC
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Giotto Di Bondone,
Interior of the Arena Chapel , 1305-1306.
The “Arena Chapel” gets it name from the Roman
amphitheater that is nearby and was built for a
local Paduan merchant named Enrico Scrovegni.
The design of the building so perfectly fits the
illusion that its is suggested that Giotto may have
been the architect as well. The result of such a
large “canvas” on which to paint was a complete
pictorial cycle of Christian Redemption, created in
38 framed pictures on 3 levels. The top register
contains images of Virgin Mary and her parents,
the middle level contains imagery from the life
and mission of Christ, and the bottom level
depicts Christ’s Passion, Crucifixion, and
Resurrection.
The pictorial levels are on a neutral base with
imitation marble veneer alternates with the
virtues and vices painted in grisaille
(monochrome grays, often used for modeling in
painting) to resemble sculpture.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Exterior of Arena Chapel
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
In one of the scenes, Enrico
Scrovegni offers a model of
the Chapel to the Virgin Mary
in one of Giotto’s frescoes.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
The ANNUNCIATION
The VISITATION
Archangel GABRIEL informs Mary that she will bear the
baby Jesus. Dove represents the INCARNATION
Mary visits cousin Elizabeth (who’s pregnant w/ St. John the
Baptist)… Elizabeth 1st to recognize divinity of baby
The ADORATION
Three Magi from the East present gifts to honor Jesus
as King of the Jews… Gold (kingship), Frankincense
(divinity) and Myrrh (Death)
The DEPOSITION
Jesus’s dead body is being taken down from the cross.
The LAMENTATION
The RESURRECTION
The ASCENSION
Mary and other bystanders mourn the body as Jesus
Christ lays dead.
Three days after Christ dies, he walks from his tomb as
the guards sleep.
40 days after his resurrection, Christ ascends into heaven
as his apostles (and sometimes the Virgin Mary) watch
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
The Illusion of Depth & Form
Chiaroscuro
…the use of dramatic
contrasts of dark and light
to produce modeling
Giotto Di Bondone,
Lamentation, ca. 1305
Arena Chapel
LATE GOTHIC
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
No more Cookie-Cutter poses…
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Giotto Di Bondone,
Crucifixion, ca. 1305
Arena Chapel
LATE GOTHIC
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Giotto Di Bondone,
Flight into Egypt, ca. 1305
Arena Chapel
LATE GOTHIC
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Giotto Di Bondone,
Homage of a Simple Man,
ca. 1295-1300.
St. Francis of Assisi, Italy
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Assisi, Italy 1228
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Assisi, Italy 1228
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Romaneque style vs. Gothic
Church of St. Francis of Assisi
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Siena Cathedral
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Interior of Upper Chapel at Assisi
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Duccio, “Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints” Maesta alterpiece,
Siena, Italy, 1308-1311 Tempera on wood panel.
Part of a large altarpiece called the Maesta, he carved his name into the base of the Virgin’s throne. It depicts the Virgin
enthroned as the Queen of Heaven amid angels and saints. The composition’s formality, symmetry, and faces of the figures all
come from Byzantine tradition but they are slightly relaxed - the faces on the figures are individualized and there movements
are softened. Part of a new naturalism, full of color, composition and texture manipulation. The influence of China and the
Middle East can be seen in the texture and composition of the fabrics that the figures are wearing.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Betrayal of Jesus
Duccio Di Buoninsegna, detail from the back of the Maesta altarpiece
from the Siena Cathedral. Siena, Italy. 1309-1311
This piece is representation of several episodes of Jesus’ betrayal, including the Kiss of Judas, the disciples fleeing in terror,
and Peter cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. The golden sky remains traditional, however, the figures are not
depicted as they were in Byzantine art. Duccio gives the figures depth, emotion on their faces, and adorns them with clothing
that drapes around them convincingly. The figures display a variety of emotions, reacting to what is happening around them.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Duccio Di Buoninsegna, detail from the back
of the Maesta altarpiece. 1309-1311 LATE GOTHIC
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Computer Reconstruction of the Maesta (Front)
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Computer Reconstruction of the Maesta (Back)
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Duccio, Triptych of Madonna and Child, c1280. LATE GOTHIC
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
The Stoclet Madonna
In November 2004 the painting was
purchased by the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City (Met)
for an undisclosed sum, reported to be
in excess of 45 million USD, the most
expensive purchase ever by the
museum. It was the first work by
Duccio acquired by the Met, which
bought the painting from members of
the Stoclet family in order to close a
gap in its permanent collections of
painting.
Duccio, The Stoclet Madonna, c1300,
Tempera on Wood.
8.3” x 11”. LATE GOTHIC
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Giotto Di Bondone,
Madonna Enthroned, ca. 1310. LATE GOTHIC
Giotto’s new form of painting displaced the Byzantine style
and established painting as a major art form for the next six
centuries. He is often credited as the father of Western
pictorial art.
He restored the naturalistic approach invented by the
Romans, that was abandoned in the middle ages, and
established a method of pictorial expression based on
observation that might be called “early scientific”.
Madonna is depicted in representational art with sculptural
solidity and weight. Madonna, enthroned with angles, rests
within her Gothic throne with the unshakable stability of an
ancient marble goddess. His technique for such an aesthetic
is called chiaroscuro.
This art was aimed to construct a figure that had substance,
dimensionality, and bulk. Works painted in this new style
portray figures, like those in sculpture, that project into the
light and give the illusion that they could cast shadows.
In this painting the throne is deep enough to contain the
monumental figure and breaks away from the flat ground to
project and enclose her.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Sala dei Nove, 1338-1339, Siena Italy.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Peaceful City, 1338-1339, Siena Italy.
Visualizing Good Government
Lorenzetti was called upon to paint allegorical depictions of good and bad government and to represent the
effects such regimes would have in the town and the country. The result is the first panoramic
city/countryscape since antiquity, and the first expansive portrait that we have of an actual city and
landscape. Today, the cycle is usually identified as Good and Bad Government. Ambrogio chose the bestilluminated walls for Good Government and its effects, leaving Bad Government in the shadows on a wall
that has also suffered considerable damage.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Effects of Bad Government, 1338-1339.
Visualizing Bad Government
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Cenni di Pepi (Cimabue)
Crucifix, 1287-88. LATE GOTHIC
Florentine painter whose nickname
means ‘Ox-Head’
Was considered one of the last of the
‘Greek Manner’ (aka BYZANTINE)
style painters, and one of the 1st to
begin exploring natural features of the
body thru painting
Regarded as one of the best painters
of the time, only to be overshadowed
by his student Giotto
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Cimabue, The Madonna and Child in Majesty Surrounded by Angels, c1280.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Cenni di Pepi (Cimabue)
Cenni di Pepi (Cimabue)
Madonna and Child Enthroned (1280)
Tempera and Gold on Wood, Florence.
LATE GOTHIC
Florentine painter whose nickname
means ‘Ox-Head’
Was considered one of the last of the
‘Greek Manner’ (aka BYZANTINE)
style painters, and one of the 1st to
begin exploring natural features of the
body thru painting
Regarded as one of the best painters
of the time, only to be overshadowed
by his student Giotto
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Giotto
Cimabue
Late Gothic Art & Painting
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
CIMABUE versus GIOTTO
In Purgatorio 11, while commenting on the fleeting nature of artistic reputation, Dante notes that:
"Cimabue once thought that he held the field in painting, and now Giotto has the praise, so much so that
the other's fame is obscured." Why did Giotto so quickly surpass his teacher? Art historians have noted that
while Cimabue began to break away from the Byzantine style of painting that had dominated Europe since
the beginning of the Middle Ages, Giotto's innovations were much more radical and systematic. Giotto's
use of perspective and his portrayal of figures as individuals, each with a distinctive personality, resulted in
a realism that would have appealed to the fourteenth-century Florentine middle class."
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Giotto
Cimabue
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Unlike most Byzantine art, both of the two paintings above use perspective (a hallmark of Renaissance art) to represent
three-dimensional space. The throne in Cimabue's painting sits on a curved platform. In Giotto's painting, on the other hand,
the three dimensional throne above the Madonna's head not only adds depth but also projects the figure toward the viewer.
Giotto's Mary is also more firmly anchored to the ground, while Cimabue's Mary seems almost to float in space.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Giotto
Cimabue
Late Gothic Art & Painting
In the first painting, Mary, Jesus, and the angels are painted without much attention to individual facial features or
expression. Each of the angels on the left has an almost identical counterpart on the right. The four apostles depicted at the
bottom of the painting are much more individualized in their features and poses. In Giotto's painting, Mary, Jesus, and the
angels are all different from each other. The angels are still symmetrically arranged, but each angel on the left is subtly
different in expression from its counterpart on the right. The Holy Mother is holding her Son in a much more realistic position.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Creating an “International Style”
Martini’s own style did not quite
reach the full exuberance of the
developed International Style, A
style of 14th- and 15th-century
painting begun by Simone Martini,
who adapted the French Gothic
manner to Sienese art (mystical)
fused with influences from the
North. This style appealed to the
aristocracy because of its brilliant
color, lavish costume, intricate
ornament, and themes involving
splendid processions of knights
and ladies.
Elegant shapes and radiant color:
flowing, fluttering line; and
weightless figures in a spaceless
setting characterize the
Annunciation.
Simone Martini, Annunciation, 1333
LATE GOTHIC (International Gothic)
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
One of the more well-known of the gothic
sculptures is this one inside Notre Dame in Paris.
In this sculpture, Mary is shown standing, holding
her son, Jesus, against her body. Unlike previous
renditions of this couple, both are naturalistic,
with recognizable facial features. As usual in
most religious sculptural depictions of the Holy
mother and child of this time, Jesus does not look
like a baby, but rather like a miniature adult. What
also looks a bit awkward is the dramatic S-curve,
which is reminiscent of the work of PRAXITELES
during the Classical Greek period.
Virgin and Child, Late 14h Century. LATE
GOTHIC
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Röttgen Pietà, c.1300-1325 CE.
Painted Wood.
This oddly distorted little work is known as the
Roettgen Pieta. A pieta is common depiction of the
Virgin Mary throughout art history as she holds the
body of her dead son Jesus in her lap. Created ca.
1325 by an unknown German artist, represents the
moment of despair when Mary recognizes the
depth of her loss.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Röttgen Pietà, c.1300-1325 CE.
Painted Wood.
The wooden statue of Mary holding dead Jesus is
purposely disproportionate and contrasts sharply
with other European statuaries of the time.
Although the statue is painted wood, the colors
used for Mary and Jesus Christ are dull greys and
browns. To symbolize Mary's grief and Jesus's low
place in society at the time of his death, Mary and
Jesus's clothing are not elaborate or ornamented.
This draws further attention to the pain and
suffering evident in this sculpture. It goes without
saying that the time period and location that the
Rottgen Pietà was carved, just prior to the
Renaissance, in territorial Germany, was a harsh
area rife with poverty and other problems such as
starvation and plague.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
The Plagues of Egypt,
Golden Haggadah, c. 1320 CE Spain.
The Golden Haggadah, one of the finest
surviving Spanish Hebrew manuscripts, was
made near Barcelona in Northern Spain.
The Haggadah, which literally means
‘narration’, is the service-book used in
Jewish households on Passover Eve to
commemorate the Exodus from Egypt.
These sumptuous illuminations set against
gold-tooled backgrounds earned the
manuscript its name and were executed in
the northern French Gothic style.
Here, the plague of frogs is initiated by as
indicated in the Bible. Green frogs leap
everywhere and nobody is spared, not even
Pharaoh. The plague of lice attacks both
humans and animals, and Pharaoh and his
magicians seem helpless.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Scenes of Liberation,
Golden Haggadah, c. 1320 CE Spain.
The Golden Haggadah, one of the finest
surviving Spanish Hebrew manuscripts, was
made near Barcelona in Northern Spain.
The Haggadah, which literally means
‘narration’, is the service-book used in
Jewish households on Passover Eve to
commemorate the Exodus from Egypt.
These sumptuous illuminations set against
gold-tooled backgrounds earned the
manuscript its name and were executed in
the northern French Gothic style.
In this last opening of the sequence of fullpage miniatures, the artist concentrates on
two themes: the Israelites' liberation and
joyful departure from Egypt, and
preparations for the Passover Festival.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Preparation for Passover,
Golden Haggadah, c. 1320 CE Spain.
The Golden Haggadah, one of the finest
surviving Spanish Hebrew manuscripts, was
made near Barcelona in Northern Spain.
The Haggadah, which literally means
‘narration’, is the service-book used in
Jewish households on Passover Eve to
commemorate the Exodus from Egypt.
These sumptuous illuminations set against
gold-tooled backgrounds earned the
manuscript its name and were executed in
the northern French Gothic style.
In this last opening of the sequence of fullpage miniatures, the artist concentrates on
two themes: the Israelites' liberation and
joyful departure from Egypt, and
preparations for the Passover Festival.
(Please note the use of ‘interior’ shots
from the outside that begin to emerge in
the late 14th century.)
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Alhambra Palace and Court of the Lions,
Nasrid Dynasty, 1354-1391 CE Spain.
The Alhambra, the palace complex of the
Nasrid dynasty in Granada, can perhaps
be considered as one of the most
famous examples of Islamic art. It was
originally constructed as a small fortress
in 889 and then largely ignored until its
ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the
mid-11th century by the Moorish emir
Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate
of Granada, who built its current palace
and walls. It was converted into a royal
palace in 1333 by the Sultan of Granada.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Alhambra Palace, Court of the Lions,
Nasrid Dynasty, 1354-1391 CE Spain.
Despite long neglect, vandalism, and some illjudged restoration, Alhambra endures as an
atypical example of Muslim art in its final
European stages, relatively uninfluenced by the
direct Byzantine influences found in the Mosque
of Cordoba. The majority of the palace buildings
are quadrangular in plan, with all the rooms
opening on to a central court, and the whole
reached its present size simply by the gradual
addition of new quadrangles, designed on the
same principle, though varying in dimensions,
and connected with each other by smaller rooms
and passages. Column arcades, fountains with
running water, and reflecting pools were used to
add to the aesthetic and functional complexity. In
every case, the exterior was left plain and
austere. Blue, red, and a golden yellow, all
somewhat faded through time and exposure, are
the colors mainly used.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Hall of Two Sisters, Alhambra Palace,
Nasrid Dynasty, 1354-1391 CE Spain.
The Hall of the Two Sisters (Sala de Dos
Hermanas) did not receive this name
because of a legend or an event that took
place in it, as many tend to believe.
The hall was so called because of two big
twin marble flagstones that are part of the
floor. This hall was in the centre of a series
of chambers where the sultana and her
family lived.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Alhambra Palace, Floor Plan, 1354-1391 CE Spain.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING
Late Gothic Art & Painting
Alhambra Palace, Lindaraja Window, 1354-1391 CE Spain.
LATE GOTHIC ART & PAINTING