Cimabue vs. Giotto Di Bondone
ASSIGNMENT #1- OPTION 4
ARTWORK
Giotto di Bondone, Madonna and Child Enthroned (ca. 1310), 10’ 6”
Cimabue, Madonna and Child with Angels and Prophets (ca. 1280-1290), 12’ 7” X 7’ 4”.
Madonna and Child with Angels and Prophets, an alter piece standing some 12 feet and 7 inches tall, was created around 1280-1290 A.D. for the Church of Santa Trinità in Florence, Italy and is now in the Galleria delgi Uffizi Florence. This iconographical piece was constructed through tempera and gold leaf on wood by Cimabue, an Italian painter who brought classical tradition back into art during the 13th century, when Italo-Byzantine style was dominant, paving the way for art in the Renaissance period.
Madonna Enthroned, standing 10 feet and 6 inches tall, nearly the same grand scale (only 2 feet shorter then Cimabue’s similar piece), is a panel created by Giotto di Bondone. Produced in 1310 A.D. for the Church of Ognissanti in Florence, Italy, this piece reproduces many of the elements incorporated in the aforementioned piece by Cimabue but in a much more naturalistic manner cohesive with the art created in this period deemed the Renaissance. Madonna Enthroned is also an iconographical piece created through tempera and gold leaf on wood and is now located in the Galleria delgi Uffizi in Florence.
Figures in the period of Byzantine art are characterized by their stylistic nature. Adhering to strict medieval values, art was meant to evoke reflection and interpretation regarding symbolism, especially within religious pieces, which could only be transpire through stylistic methods. They were, in majority, flat, one-dimensional forms with elongated faces, unnaturally large, vacuous eyes, and generally unexpressive. The lack of light and shadowing in pieces from this period also add to its idealistic nature. Cimabue challenges this through his use of depth and foreshortening. Madonna’s throne seems to recede into the background, shown through both
ARTWORK
Giotto di Bondone, Madonna and Child Enthroned (ca. 1310), 10’ 6”
Cimabue, Madonna and Child with Angels and Prophets (ca. 1280-1290), 12’ 7” X 7’ 4”.
Madonna and Child with Angels and Prophets, an alter piece standing some 12 feet and 7 inches tall, was created around 1280-1290 A.D. for the Church of Santa Trinità in Florence, Italy and is now in the Galleria delgi Uffizi Florence. This iconographical piece was constructed through tempera and gold leaf on wood by Cimabue, an Italian painter who brought classical tradition back into art during the 13th century, when Italo-Byzantine style was dominant, paving the way for art in the Renaissance period.
Madonna Enthroned, standing 10 feet and 6 inches tall, nearly the same grand scale (only 2 feet shorter then Cimabue’s similar piece), is a panel created by Giotto di Bondone. Produced in 1310 A.D. for the Church of Ognissanti in Florence, Italy, this piece reproduces many of the elements incorporated in the aforementioned piece by Cimabue but in a much more naturalistic manner cohesive with the art created in this period deemed the Renaissance. Madonna Enthroned is also an iconographical piece created through tempera and gold leaf on wood and is now located in the Galleria delgi Uffizi in Florence.
Figures in the period of Byzantine art are characterized by their stylistic nature. Adhering to strict medieval values, art was meant to evoke reflection and interpretation regarding symbolism, especially within religious pieces, which could only be transpire through stylistic methods. They were, in majority, flat, one-dimensional forms with elongated faces, unnaturally large, vacuous eyes, and generally unexpressive. The lack of light and shadowing in pieces from this period also add to its idealistic nature. Cimabue challenges this through his use of depth and foreshortening. Madonna’s throne seems to recede into the background, shown through both
Cited: * Fred S. Kleiner, Gardener’s Art Through the Ages: A Western Perspective. Boston: Clark Baxter, 2010. * Charles Caffin, How to Study Pictures. New York: The Century Co., 1915. * Albert William Levi and Ralph Smith , Art Education.: A Critical Necessity. Illinois: Illini Books, 1991. * Hayden Maginnis, Painting in the Age of Giotto: A historical Reevaluation. Pennsylvania, 1997.