Picasso And Giotto Research Paper

Giotto and Picasso

Giotto di Bondone and Pablo Picasso, two of the greatest artists in history, greatly influenced today’s art and its techniques. Both of them broke the boundaries applied to their time and expressed space in ways that had never been seen before. Nonetheless, there exist differences between the two. For instance, their artistic styles and stages differed. While Giotto painted in the Gothic period and in the style of frescoe, Picasso, being a painter of the twentieth century, had many styles and stages broken down into periods to his works. His most famous period, also known as the most radical art of the twentieth century, has been Cubism. Furthermore, Giotto dealt largely in traditional religious subjects, something
He had a “Blue Period”, a “Rose Period” and an “Abstract” or “Cubist Period”; the latest of the three being his most famous period.6 Picasso’s “Blue Period” was during his late teens, around 1901 to 1904, and the works he produced were quite sentimental. Shortly after moving to Paris from Barcelona, he began creating works suffused in blue pigment, giving them a somber tone. This was triggered by the suicide of his childhood friend, the Spanish poet Casagemas, along with his own poor living conditions during that time.7 The most poignant of his works in this style would probably be that of La Vie, which started off as a self portrait but then looked a lot like and had the features of Casagemas, and is located now in Cleveland’s Museum of Art.8 In 1905-1906, he began to lighten his palette and thus created a beige or “rose” tone; this began his “Rose Period.” Here, his subject matters were a lot less depressing than that of his “Blue Period.”9 One of his works from this period is located in Washington D.C’s National Gallery; the large and extremely beautiful Family of Saltimbanques (circus people) dating to 1905. Set in a one-dimensional space, it shows a group of circus workers who appear alienated and unable to communicate with each other.10 In the late 1906, Picasso began to express space in strongly geometrical terms. This was inspired by Cézanne’s
Whether it would be better or worse can be kept in doubt because it proves to be something almost impossible to confirm. Either way, both artists contributed in the making of today’s art and various art styles and periods prior to this time. Both of them have been kept alive all throughout history and that must be so for a reason. So, even if to some art is pretty much meaningless and not of interest, artists prove to be very important people to history not only in the art category but also in other categories such as politics which, by most, are considered a majorly important part of history. Actually, Picasso would be a great example for this because, during the time in which he lived, he did contribute to the political and social climate of his time. Giotto probably did not do anything like that but that does not kick him any lower on the scale of