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Giotto
Vasari famously wrote that Giotto "recovered the true method of painting, which had been lost for many years before him," and indeed, he is traditionally considered a founder of the Italian Renaissance. Vasari famously wrote that Giotto "recovered the true method of painting, which had been lost for many years before him," and indeed, he is traditionally considered a founder of the Italian Renaissance. Producing a series of commissioned works for the church and upper classes in his native Tuscany and surrounding regions, Giotto changed the course of European art by breaking away from the rigid, stereotyped figures of the Byzantine and medieval traditions. His innovation was to give his characters natural movement and expression. His great fresco cycles, such as the lives of the Virgin and Christ in the Scrovegni (or Arena) Chapel, Padua, are populated with realistic depictions of three-dimensional figures; secondary characters, both comic and tragic, display the range of the painter's wit and invention. And Giotto's treatment of perspective was just as revolutionary as his approach to the human the dramatic power of his scenes is heightened by the convincing illusionistic spaces in which he places them.
In this authoritative survey of Giotto's life and work, Francesca Flores d'Arcais draws on an impressive range of sources, from fourteenth-century documents to the most recent art-historical investigations. Her research leads her to important reattributions of Giottesque paintings and to new conclusions regarding the execution and dating of both famous and lesser-known works. In this second edition of her study, d'Arcais also discusses the earthquake of September 26, 1997, that damaged the frescoes of the Upper Basilica of San Francisco in Assisi, some of which are attributed to the young Giotto; she explains not only the extent of the damage, but also the art-historical insights that emerged from the subsequent restoration effort.
More than three hundred illustrations, most in full color and some on double gatefold pages, reproduce all of Giotto's important frescoes in exquisite detail, as well as his moving crucifixes and jewel-like polyptychs. These splendid images and d'Arcais's insightful text, now, for the first time, in an affordable paperback edition, make this the definitive monograph on the greatest of trecento masters.
In this authoritative survey of Giotto's life and work, Francesca Flores d'Arcais draws on an impressive range of sources, from fourteenth-century documents to the most recent art-historical investigations. Her research leads her to important reattributions of Giottesque paintings and to new conclusions regarding the execution and dating of both famous and lesser-known works. In this second edition of her study, d'Arcais also discusses the earthquake of September 26, 1997, that damaged the frescoes of the Upper Basilica of San Francisco in Assisi, some of which are attributed to the young Giotto; she explains not only the extent of the damage, but also the art-historical insights that emerged from the subsequent restoration effort.
More than three hundred illustrations, most in full color and some on double gatefold pages, reproduce all of Giotto's important frescoes in exquisite detail, as well as his moving crucifixes and jewel-like polyptychs. These splendid images and d'Arcais's insightful text, now, for the first time, in an affordable paperback edition, make this the definitive monograph on the greatest of trecento masters.
384 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 29, 2016
When I saw this book available for request on NetGalley, my inner art history minor went "SQUEE!!!!" and I hit the request button. My request was granted and then my inner art history minor went "nom nom nom, sigh".
My art history classes were... awhile ago, but not so long ago that the allure of it was completely lost to the ravages of life and older age. This book COMPLETELY took me back to art history text books and going to museums in NYC to actually SEE some of the works IRL, rather than on a page.
That's where this falls short as an eBook. The pictures are GORGEOUS, but the full two page spreads are split and I don't have the ability to make it all on one page, if that ability actually exists. It was FRUSTRATING to only see HALF of the work being discussed and shown.
Another neg is that you have to keep skipping back and forth between the discussion and the work being discussed. It's much easier to bend the page so you can read and view at the same time, or at least flip back and forth without losing your place as easily.
So only 4 stars for the e-version of the book. Seriously, if you want this book, get it for reals. The eBook just doesn't cut it. Though I'm sure the real book is much heavier than an eReader, it's worth it for the pictures alone.
Giotto was an amazing, forward thinking artist from Italy working in the late 1200s to early 1300s. One of the things that I have learned from this book about him, and about the time in general, is that NO ONE DOCUMENTED ANYTHING IN A WAY THAT WAS LASTING. Lol, the scholars of Giotto ALL disagree on when he was in Padua, when he did this Crucifix, when he did that Crucifix, etc. I can completely hear the frustration of the author, even through a translation.
I imagine that if an art historian of Giotto or another artist who was also similarly not documented as well as other later artists got their hands on a time machine, I KNOW where they would be going. Heck, as an English major, I would for once and all dispel the rumors of "did Shakespeare exist and did he write his own plays" drama that seems to persist in the English academic world. So I completely understand the author's frustration.
She was quite fair to list the other major Giotto scholars and their beliefs and why they believed it. She then stated what she believed and why, but she was respectful and included them. You do get a slight, "I'm right and they are wrong, and I pity them for their wrong beliefs", but I think all scholars have that air about them. She wasn't rude about it, but you know where she was coming from.
Slight neg on the eARC, it ended at page 317 out of what I think is a 380 some odd page book. So I didn't get to see the notes, works cited and bibliography, as is my want with a non-fiction book. I REALLY wanted to see what other books were listed in the bibliography, because future TBR, but I guess I can just read over my old textbooks from college if I get another art history jones.
Very good book. I think it will be even better as the book and not the eBook. Four solid, took me back, stars. I think anyone who has an interest in art history, or heck, even just really pretty artwork, would enjoy this book. The language is a bit technical, but not so technical that it will go over the reader's head. I highly recommend it.
My thanks to NetGalley and Abbeville Press for and eARC copy of this book to read and review.
My art history classes were... awhile ago, but not so long ago that the allure of it was completely lost to the ravages of life and older age. This book COMPLETELY took me back to art history text books and going to museums in NYC to actually SEE some of the works IRL, rather than on a page.
That's where this falls short as an eBook. The pictures are GORGEOUS, but the full two page spreads are split and I don't have the ability to make it all on one page, if that ability actually exists. It was FRUSTRATING to only see HALF of the work being discussed and shown.
Another neg is that you have to keep skipping back and forth between the discussion and the work being discussed. It's much easier to bend the page so you can read and view at the same time, or at least flip back and forth without losing your place as easily.
So only 4 stars for the e-version of the book. Seriously, if you want this book, get it for reals. The eBook just doesn't cut it. Though I'm sure the real book is much heavier than an eReader, it's worth it for the pictures alone.
Giotto was an amazing, forward thinking artist from Italy working in the late 1200s to early 1300s. One of the things that I have learned from this book about him, and about the time in general, is that NO ONE DOCUMENTED ANYTHING IN A WAY THAT WAS LASTING. Lol, the scholars of Giotto ALL disagree on when he was in Padua, when he did this Crucifix, when he did that Crucifix, etc. I can completely hear the frustration of the author, even through a translation.
I imagine that if an art historian of Giotto or another artist who was also similarly not documented as well as other later artists got their hands on a time machine, I KNOW where they would be going. Heck, as an English major, I would for once and all dispel the rumors of "did Shakespeare exist and did he write his own plays" drama that seems to persist in the English academic world. So I completely understand the author's frustration.
She was quite fair to list the other major Giotto scholars and their beliefs and why they believed it. She then stated what she believed and why, but she was respectful and included them. You do get a slight, "I'm right and they are wrong, and I pity them for their wrong beliefs", but I think all scholars have that air about them. She wasn't rude about it, but you know where she was coming from.
Slight neg on the eARC, it ended at page 317 out of what I think is a 380 some odd page book. So I didn't get to see the notes, works cited and bibliography, as is my want with a non-fiction book. I REALLY wanted to see what other books were listed in the bibliography, because future TBR, but I guess I can just read over my old textbooks from college if I get another art history jones.
Very good book. I think it will be even better as the book and not the eBook. Four solid, took me back, stars. I think anyone who has an interest in art history, or heck, even just really pretty artwork, would enjoy this book. The language is a bit technical, but not so technical that it will go over the reader's head. I highly recommend it.
My thanks to NetGalley and Abbeville Press for and eARC copy of this book to read and review.
January 6, 2022
Beautiful book and well written. Feel like it was a bit above where I am now, but still learned a lot. Definitely a read for someone well versed in art and not necessarily looking for a biography of Giotto
June 3, 2018
Interessante la parte relativa al "Non Giotto" (Cavallini? Arnolfo di Cambio?). Peccato per le immagini della Cappella degli Scrovegni, mancano delle parti iconografiche importanti.
February 19, 2017
Oh Giotto, I can't wait to see your frescoes again in Florence.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews