Giotto Di Bondone

by Norbert Wolf

A central figure of the Early Renaissance

According to legend, he was discovered by Cimabue as a boy, sketching his father’s sheep. Giotto di Bodone (1266-1337) was the most famous and influential painter of his generation in Italy. As the pioneer of modern painting, his impact was so enormous that his artist colleagues in Florence, however capable, were left struggling to keep up. His services were engaged by numerous high officials and princes, including the Pope and his cardinals, King Robert of Anjou, and the Scaligeri and Visconti. All these works, including the large secular cycles, are lost. Amongst his surviving works, his masterpieces are undoubtedly his decoration, from 1303 to 1305, of the private chapel built by the financier Enrico Scrovegni for his family in a former Roman amphitheatre in Padua, the fresco cycle in the Upper Church of Assisi, and the frescos in side chapels of Santa Croce in Florence. The simplicity and strength of his forms, as well as the humanism he infused in his works, set him apart from his Byzantine contemporaries and at the forefront of Italian painting in the early years of the Renaissance.

Genres: Art, Art History

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Norbert Wolf is an art historian and author based in Munich. He has published several books with Prestel, including "Art Nouveau", "Art Deco", "Impressionism", "Spanish Painting", and "The Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish Painting", as well as monographs on Albrecht Dürer and Titian.

Reviews

[Florence Millo · Rating 4 out of 5]

My career was in the medical field and I have little knowledge of art or art history. Now that I have retired, I want to explore this area. So my husband and I are reading about an artist and his work each month. We began this month with the 14th century painter Giotto. Norbert Wolf's 90 page book on Giotto was a good choice for a beginner. The variety of his work is impressive --not variety of subject because the vast majority was religious. We took a trip to Italy in 2001. We went to Rome and Florence but if we were to go again, we would make sure to see the Arena Chapel in Padua. The pictures in this small book show a wide variety of his work. The text describes the time, place, and technique of the paintings in a manner understandable to a beginner like me. Next month we stay in Italy but move forward in time to Brunelleschi and his magnificent dome.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book but... the author used way too many exclamation points.*

* And by way too many I mean he more than exceeded the acceptable nonfiction limit of zero.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giotto:begin van een nieuwe tijd de Renaissance. Interessant en indrukwekkend. Goede,tamelijk gedetailleerde inleiding.

[Γιώργος Μπελαούρης · Rating 4 out of 5]

the ''daddy'' of art as we know it
what a boss my god
thank goodness that cimambue found him, if he was still a shepherd maybe we wouldnt have renaisance (bold statement, but i kinda believe it)