What were some of the artistic
changes?
What were some of the Italian cities
that produced art during this period?
What is the “guild” system of art?
What does the word “Renaissance”
mean?
Proto (Early) Renaissance
Italy 1200 - 1400
What you need to know about
Late Gothic
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
It refers to the pre-Renaissance period (c.1300-1400) in
Italy, with progressive painters such as Giotto, who
pioneered the new form of figurative "realism", which
was fully developed by artists during the Renaissance
era .
The main types of art practiced during the Proto-
Renaissance period included: fresco mural painting,
tempera panel painting, book illuminations, relief
sculpture, goldsmithing and other forms of metalwork.
Most of the artistic developments of
the trecentro Proto-Renaissance period had a direct
effect on Early Renaissance painting (c.1400-90).
Gothic art in Italy forms a bridge between
Medieval and Renaissance art.
The artist becomes an important historical
personality whose life story can be traced
and recorded
Aspects of ancient sculpture are revitalized
under the artistic leadership of the Pisani
family
The Sienese and Florentine schools of
painting dominate trecentro art (13th and
14th century Italian art).
Artists worked in a guild system in which artwork
was regulated.
Guilds were artist associations that determined
how long apprenticeship should take , how many
apprentices an artist could have , and the route to
become an established artist.
After a successful internship, former apprentices
entered the guild as mature artist and full
members.
Cue Card
Nicola Pisano
Pulpit of Pisa Cathedral Baptistery
1259-1260, marble, approximately 15 ft. high
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 like that
represented in painting by the work
of Giotto.
Giovanni Pisano
Pulpit, Sant’Andrea
Pulpit: five panels circle around
the elevated pulpit;
Gothic Corinthian capitals
closer in design to ancient
capitals than to contemporary
French; round arches cusp in
French Gothic style; antique
lions at the base; nude heroic
figure of Hercules symbolizing
Christian bravery and strength
Annunciation and the Nativity
Very crowded composition of
figures layered atop one Compare son’s to
another; massive drapery that father’s
forms logically around bodies
hat are stocky and solidly
conceived; as in Italian painting,
facial expressions and gestures
enliven figures who
communicate with one another
14-5: Saint Francis Altarpiece, Bonaventura
Berlinghieri, San Francesco, Pescia, Italy,
1235, Tempera on wood
Cue Card
Receiving the stigmata
Painted in the Italo-Byzantine style
or maniera greca (Greek Manner)
Earliest know representation of
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis preaching to the birds
Cue Card
Cimabue
14-6: Madonna
Enthroned with
Angels
ca. 1280-1290
tempera on wood
12 ft. 7 in. x 7 ft. 4 in.
One of the first artist to
break from the Italo-
Byzantine style, he
challenged major
conventions of late
medieval art in pursuit of a
new naturalism, close
observation of natural
world - core of classical
Compare with tradition
Byzantine Theotokos
www.accd.edu/.../arts1304/ErlyRen1.htm
Cue Card
•Maniera greca; figures rise in a hieratic
Byzantine manner
•Emphasis on flatness of forms; angels
hover around throne
•Long, thin elegant figures; strong
verticality
•Flecks of gold define drapery folds
•Virgin Mary as the Throne of Wisdom
points to Christ as the way to salvation
•Mary with Byzantine-shaped face and
stylized features
•Not Byzantine in size; Byzantine icons
are portable
•Figures on bottom represent a
changing style; figures have weight,
solidity, bulk
www.accd.edu/.../arts1304/ErlyRen1.htm
Cue Card
•Giotto displayed the Byzantine
style in Italian painting and
revived classical naturalism. His
figures have substance, three-
dimensionality, and bulk.
•Angels stand more naturally
around the Gothic throne
•Mary is more human
14-7: Giotto di Bondone,
Madonna Enthroned , ca. 1310
tempera on wood, 10 ft. 8 in. x 6 ft. 8 in.
•Weight, size, solidity, three-
dimensionality, bulk
•Mary’s breast and knees
revealed beneath drapery
•Angels stand more naturally
around the Gothic throne
•Perspective indicated in the
positioning of the side panels
of the throne and the
shadowing of the steps
•Some faces turn away from the
picture plane
•Mary as the mother of Christ,
but also become more human
14-1: Giotto di Bondone
Interior of the Arena Chapel
Padua, Italy
Cue Card
1305-1306
fresco
Giotto Di Bondone,
Interior of the Arena Chapel ,
A Chapel Built to be Painted 1305-1306, Padua, Italy
The “Arena Chapel” gets it name from the
Roman amphitheater that is near by and was
built for a local 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 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.
Last Judgment
14-8: Giotto di Bondone
Cue Card
Lamentation, from the Interior
of the Arena Chapel, Padua,
Italy, 1305-1306, fresco
•Shallow stage. Figures occupy a
palpable space pushed forward
toward the picture plane
•Diagonal cliff formation points to
main action daringly placed in lower
left-hand corner
•Modeling indicates direction of light,
light falls from above right
•Range of emotions; heavy
sadness, quiet resignation, flaming
outbursts, despair
•Sadness of scene emphasized by
grieving angels, barrenness of tree
•Figures on the lower left are seen
from the back and isolate the main
action
•Clear foreground, middle ground,
and background
Giotto Di Bondone, Lamentation, Arena Chapel
Joachim's Dream
Ascension
The Illusion of Depth
Predecessor to Chiaroscuro
…the use of dramatic contrasts of dark and light to
produce modeling
Fourteenth Century Italy Cue Card
Part of a large altarpiece 14-9: Duccio Di Buoninsegna, “Virgin and Child
called the Maesta, he carved Enthroned with Saints” Principle panel of the Maesta
his name into the base of the altarpiece, from the Siena Cathedra,
Virgin’s throne Siena, Italy, 1308-1311 Tempera on wood panel
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.
Cue Card
Predella: the base of an
altarpiece that is filled with
small paintings, often
narrative scenes
Predella
Duccio,
Maesta altarpiece,
Betrayal of
Jesus
Unlike most Byzantine art, both
paintings use perspective (a hallmark
Cimabue
of Renaissance art) to represent three-
Giotto
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.
In the first painting, Mary, Jesus, and the angels are painted without much
attention to individual 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.
Creating an “International Style”
Simone Martini
Annunciation, 1333
Martini’s own style did not Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
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 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. 14-3; Simone Martini, Annunciation
Cue Card Siena Cathedral, 1333
Tempera on gold leaf on wood
14-14: Pietro Lorenzetti, The Birth of the Virgin
Altar of Saint Savinus, Siena Cathedral, Siena, Italy 1342
Tempera on wood
Cue Card
Pictorial illusion
Structural innovation
Simone Martini, Annunciation
•Part of the Marian cycle of paintings in
Siena Cathedral
•Pioneering attempt at building an
interior space, with the three parts of
the triptych suggesting a single
common viewpoint
•St. Anne gives birth inside a Sienese
home; everyday items depicted
•St. Anne reclining, as women wash
newborn Mary in a basin
•At left, St. Joachim, Mary’s father, is in
an antechamber hearing the news of the
birth of his daughter
•Windows open up to reveal further
arches and walled spaces beyond,
expressing depth; innovative use of pier
that establishes picture plane and does
not separate the space of the center and
right-hand panels
Center of Siena’s civic Cue Card
government
•Fortress-like exterior
gives the impression of an
impenetrable building
•Huge bell tower
(campanile) dominates the
façade, the city square,
and the city as a whole
•Symbolically puts the
building in competition
with the cathedral
14-15: Palazzo Pubblico
Sienna, Italy, 1288-1309
14-16: Plaza Pubblico, 1338-1339, Siena, Italy
•Located in the Public Palace in Siena where judges met to adjudicate issues of
Sienese law
•Highly literate society for its time; inscriptions on the paintings are in Latin and
Italian; Lorenzettis signature prominently displayed
•City: cityscape scene from a high viewpoint, perhaps a tower, overlooking a
prosperous town run by efficient laws; dancing in the street (technically illegal
in Siena) symbolizes the success of good government and the peacefulness
and joy it brings; crafts and trades flourish; schools are open; new buildings
under construction; emphases placed on food being brought into the city
14-16: Plaza Pubblico, 1338-1339, Siena, Italy
Peaceful City, Effects of Good Government … Cue Card
Ambrogio Lorenzetti
Peaceful City, 1338-1339
Visualizing Good Government Siena Italy
“Peaceful City” is a panoramic view of Siena, with its clustering
palaces, markets, towers, churches, streets, and walls. The city’s
traffic moves peacefully, the guilds’ members ply their trades and
crafts, and a cluster of radiant maidens, hand in hand, perform a
graceful circling dance.
The artist fondly observed the life of his city, and its architecture gave
him an opportunity to apply Sienese artists’ rapidly growing
knowledge of perspective.
County: peaceful villas set in landscape again surveyed form above, filled with
vineyards, orchards,14-17:
andPeaceful
bountifulCountry, Effects
harvests; of port
distant Good inGovernment…
the background for
the shipment of goods; figure of Security holding a gallows insures fair justice for
all; aristocrats leave town to go falconing; farmers bring livestock and grain to
market
The view of the countryside
- one of the first instances
of landscape painting since
antiquity
Florence Cathedral Cue Card
Matched
designs
14-18: Florence Cathedral
Campanile (Bell
Florence, Italy, begun 1296 Tower) is designed
by Giotto di
Bondone
•Giotto designed the campanile, perhaps altered after his death,
•Campanile: crisply divided horizontal sections tack floors one
above the other; variously colored marbles inspired by Italian
Romanesque buildings; patterns of rectangular blocks of marble
cover the surface
•Façade finished in the 19th century
Andrea Orcagna
Tabernacle
Or San Michele, Florence, Italy
ca. 1346-1347
mosaic, gold, marble, lapis lazuli
Bernardo Daddi
Madonna and Child with Saints
1346-1347
French Gothic
quatrefoil frames
Compare to doors of St. Michael’s Church,
Ottonian - Medieval period
Late Gothic art in Italy is a bridge period between the
Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Italian artist were inspired by Roman works, broke
away from Byzantine traditions and establish to
schools of painting: The Sienese and the Florentine
Art from Siena is marked by figures that are closer
aligned to French Gothic art: thin, elegant, aristocratic,
and decoration – all aspects of International Gothic
Style.
Florentine artist concentrate on mass and solidity,
often using shading to create the suggestion of three
dimensions.
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.."
Explain the quote by comparing and contrasting the painting of
Cimabue with Giotto. Why is Giotto considered the first
Renaissance painter?
