Who Is Giotto?
Giotto di Bondone, generally known as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the late Middle Ages. He is widely acknowledged to be the founder of Renaissance painting, although he personally insisted he was entering a new kind of art rather than a new era in art. Acknowledged by his contemporaries as the greatest painter in Italy of his generation, Giotto was one of the fathers of Western art and the first significant artist whose name and masterpiece works have come down to us in recognizable form.
Early Life
Giotto was born in 1266 in the town of Vespignano, near Florence, to a family of humble sheep-herders. His father, who died soon after Giotto’s birth, was a peasant named Bondone. His mother gave him the nickname Giotto, in memory of her deceased husband. As a young boy, Giotto was already enamored with design and art. He was often credited by his contemporaries with having a supernatural eye for the beauty of line and proportion. Very little is known about his young life, and some speculate he worked as an apprentice to Cimabue, one of the greatest masters of the time.
The Adoration of the Magi
One of Giotto’s most impressive works is The Adoration of the Magi, a fresco painting located in the upper church of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, which he completed in 1296. The painting is a profound study of human nature, in many ways a bridge from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. It is composed of a cavalcade of camels, horses, kings, and servants crossing a strange mountain landscape to kneel in awe of the infant Christ. In this painting, Giotto abandoned the traditional flat, gold-adorned panels of Byzantine art and instead drew figures with physical dimension and emotion.
Influence on Art
Giotto’s innovations in painting set the foundations for the Renaissance. Before Giotto, art was largely restricted to Byzantine conventions, with figures limited to simplified, gestural poses and flat backgrounds. Giotto combined drier, fresher pigments with a more representational style to form a new manner of lifelike scenes and figures. A great innovator and one of the first artists to show an interest in realism and recreating nature, he employed the newly discovered technique of perspective to convincingly portray the three-dimensional world.
His work influenced the development of Italian art for over two centuries and had a lasting impact on European painting until the advent of the French Impressionists in the 19th century. In particular, he was well-respected by his contemporaries, who ranked him even above Cennino Cennini and Giusto Utens.
Architecture
In addition to painting, Giotto was also an accomplished architect, most notably building the Campanile (Bell Tower) of Florence in 1334. This design, now known as the Giotto Bell Tower, is a visible symbol of Florence and a favored touristic location. The structure displays typical Gothic features, with detailed furnishings that include a set of glass mosaic panels depicting the life of St. John the Baptist. The tower is a remarkable accomplishment and an iconic piece of architecture standing today as a tribute to Giotto’s commitment to the craft.
Later Years
Giotto was an incredibly prolific painter. He completed numerous frescoes and panel paintings throughout Italy, serving as a master artist to many successful commissions. His later commissions included painting the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua between 1303 and 1305, where he completed some of his most recognizable works, and also The Stefaneschi Triptych in Rome in 1313-1315. It is believed that Giotto died in Florence on January 8th, 1337, leaving behind a legacy of unparalleled innovation and excellence in painting and architecture.
The Legacy of Giotto
In the centuries since his death, the impact of Giotto’s works on art is clear. He furthered a shift from the two-dimensional, stylized art of the Middle Ages to the more expressive, realistic paintings of the Renaissance. He is credited with being the father of a whole new art form, and as a result was an inspiration for hundreds of other artists. His influence can be seen in the works of Renaissance masters, including Michelangelo and Donatello, as well as in that of modern day painters.
Giotto’s legacy is still present today, in both the immense amount of works that he created during his lifetime and in the inspiration he generated in many generations of art-makers. His work continues to inspire and amaze, with its real life depictions of emotion and its intricate attention to detail. Currently, Giotto’s works are some of the most famous and most beloved masterpieces to have been created in the last thousand years, a fitting testament to what many consider the first true European piece of art.
