GIOTTO DI BONDONE

Giotto was the first art star.  A painter and architect, he lived between 1266 and 1337. He brought the Middle Ages into the Renaissance by revolutionizing the depiction of the figure.  Instead of  practicing the  flattened and distorted style of representation ubiquitous at that time, he looked to nature and drew from life.  Giotto’s frescos sing. The colours he used are so beautiful I can taste them, and his poses are so evocative he makes me understand the stories more than any movie could.  Needless to say, I hope to one day see these works illustrating scenes from the life of Christ at the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images sourced from: (Luciano Bellosi, Giotto. Firenze: Scala Istituto Fotografico Editoriale, 1981.)