Friday 2 February 2024

Giotto - part 4

 


Giotto di Bondone  c1265-1337 was the first of the great Italian painters, active in Florence. He decorated chapels and churches in Assisi, Rome, Padua, Florence, and Naples with frescoes and panel paintings. Because little of his life and few of his works are documented, attributions and a stylistic chronology of his paintings remain problematic and often highly speculative. His works in Rome include the heavily restored mosaic of Christ Walking on the Water over the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica, and an altarpiece from St. Peter’s, now in the Vatican Museum. In Padua, his fresco of the Last Judgment decorates the western wall of the Arena Chapel, and the rest of the chapel is covered with his narrative frescoes featuring scenes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ. Later in his career he executed frescoes in four chapels in the church of Santa Croce in Florence, two of which survive. In 1334 he was appointed surveyor of Florence Cathedral; his design for the campanile was altered after his death. The most important extant panel painting attributed to him is The Madonna in Glory (c. 1305–10). He achieved great fame in his lifetime, and he is considered the father of European painting for breaking with the impersonal stylisations of Byzantine art and introducing new ideals of naturalism and humanity, three-dimensional space, and three-dimensional form. The course of Italian painting was dominated by his students and followers. His work points to the innovations of the Renaissance style that developed a century later.


For earlier works by Giotto see parts 1 - 3 also.

This is part 4 of a 6-part series on the works of Giotto.


Scenes from the Life of Christ (continued from part 3):


Massacre of the Innocents
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Massacre of the Innocents
detail

Massacre of the Innocents
detail

Christ among the Doctors
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Christ among the Doctors
detail

Baptism of Christ
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Baptism of Christ
detail

Marriage at Cana
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Marriage at Cana
detail

Marriage at Cana
detail

Marriage at Cana
detail

Raising of Lazarus
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Raising of Lazarus
detail

Raising of Lazarus
detail

Entry into Jerusalem
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Entry into Jerusalem
detail

Entry into Jerusalem
detail

Entry into Jerusalem
detail

Expulsion of the Money-changers from the Temple
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Expulsion of the Money-changers from the Temple
detail

 Judas' Betrayal
fresco 150 x 140 cm

Judas' Betrayal
detail

Last Supper
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Last Supper
detail

Washing of Feet
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Washing of Feet
detail

Washing of Feet
detail

Washing of Feet
detail

The Arrest of Christ (Kiss of Judas)
fresco 200 x 185 cm

The Arrest of Christ (Kiss of Judas)
detail

The Arrest of Christ (Kiss of Judas)
detail

The Arrest of Christ (Kiss of Judas)
detail

Christ before Caiaphas
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Christ before Caiaphas
detail

Mocking of Christ
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Mocking of Christ
detail

Mocking of Christ
detail

Road to Calvary
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Road to Calvary
detail

The Crucifixion
fresco 200 x 185 cm

The Crucifixion
detail


Note: Scenes from the Life of Christ continues in part 5.

Wednesday 31 January 2024

Giotto - part 3

Self-Portrait

Giotto di Bondone  c1265-1337 was the first of the great Italian painters, active in Florence. He decorated chapels and churches in Assisi, Rome, Padua, Florence, and Naples with frescoes and panel paintings. Because little of his life and few of his works are documented, attributions and a stylistic chronology of his paintings remain problematic and often highly speculative. His works in Rome include the heavily restored mosaic of Christ Walking on the Water over the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica, and an altarpiece from St. Peter’s, now in the Vatican Museum. In Padua, his fresco of the Last Judgment decorates the western wall of the Arena Chapel, and the rest of the chapel is covered with his narrative frescoes featuring scenes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ. Later in his career he executed frescoes in four chapels in the church of Santa Croce in Florence, two of which survive. In 1334 he was appointed surveyor of Florence Cathedral; his design for the campanile was altered after his death. The most important extant panel painting attributed to him is The Madonna in Glory (c. 1305–10). He achieved great fame in his lifetime, and he is considered the father of European painting for breaking with the impersonal stylisations of Byzantine art and introducing new ideals of naturalism and humanity, three-dimensional space, and three-dimensional form. The course of Italian painting was dominated by his students and followers. His work points to the innovations of the Renaissance style that developed a century later.


For earlier works by Giotto see parts 1 & 2 also.

This is part 3 of a 6-part series on the works of Giotto:


1310-17 The Crucifixion of Rimini
tempera and gold on panel 430 x 303 cm
Tempio Malatestiano, Rimini, Italy

c1310-18 Pentecost by Giotto di Bondone and Workshop
egg tempera on poplar wood panel 45.5 x 44 cm
The National Gallery, London

c1311-20 Nativity
fresco (size not given) 
Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, Assisi, Italy

1315-20 Stefaneschi Triptych (recto) by Giotto di Bondone and Workshop
tempera on wood 220 x 245 cm
Central panel 178 x 89 cm
 
Side panels 168 x 83 cm
Museo Vaticani, Vatican City


1315-20 Stefaneschi triptych (verso) by Giotto di Bondone and Workshop
tempera on wood (sizes as above)
Museo Vaticani, Vatican City


1317 Crucifix
tempera on wood 223 x 164 cm
Museo Civico, Padua

c1320 The Adoration of the Magi
tempera on wood panel, gold ground 45.1 x 43.8 cm
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

1330 Polyptych with Saints and Angels
tempera on panel 91 x 340 cm
Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna

1330 Polyptych with Saints and Angels 
detail

1330 Polyptych with Saints and Angels 
detail

1330 Polyptych with Saints and Angels 
detail

1330 Polyptych with Saints and Angels 
detail

1330 Polyptych with Saints and Angels 
detail

1330 The Stefaneschi Altarpiece (recto)
tempera on panel 220 x 245 cm

1330 The Stefaneschi Altarpiece (recto)
left hand panel

1330 The Stefaneschi Altarpiece (recto)
left hand panel detail

1330 The Stefaneschi Altarpiece (recto)
Centre panel: Christ Enthroned

1330 The Stefaneschi Altarpiece (recto)
Right panel: Martyrdom of St Paul

1330 The Stefaneschi Triptych (verso)
tempera on panel 220 x 245 cm

1330 The Stefaneschi Triptych (verso)
left hand panel

1330 The Stefaneschi Triptych (verso)
centre panel
c1330s Crucifixion
oil, tempera and gold leaf on panel 39 x 26 cm
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg


1330s Crucifix
tempera on wood 343 x 432 cm
San Felice, Florence

1330s Crucifixion
tempera on wood panel 58 x 33 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

c1330s-40s The Dead Christ and the Virgin Neapolitan
by follower of Giotto
egg tempera on wood panel 60 x 42.3 cm
The National Gallery, London



c1334 The Baroncelli Polyptych, Franciscan church of Santa Croce in Florence. Tempera on wood panels:


Detail: Coronation of the Virgin

Detail: Coronation of the Virgin

Detail

Detail

n.d. Scenes from the Life of Christ (not dated):

Nativity: Birth of Christ
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Nativity: Birth of Christ
detail

Nativity: Birth of Christ
detail

Adoration of the Magi
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Adoration of the Magi
detail

Adoration of the Magi
detail

Adoration of the Magi
detail

Presentation of Christ at the Temple
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Presentation of Christ at the Temple
detail

Flight into Egypt
fresco 200 x 185 cm

Flight into Egypt
detail

Note: 
Scenes from the Life of Christ continues in part 4.