Art Giotto and Duccio Term Paper

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Giotto and Duccio

The Arena Chapel (Scrovegni) of Giotto (1303) and Duccio's Maesta (1308) are both masterpieces of medieval European art. The Arena chapel contains the fresco cycle and is indicative of the movement towards a more humanistic view of religiosity, while the maestro is a large altarpiece that includes multiple images. Both have a similar subject but were constructed with divergent intentions and distinctive artistic styles.

Giotto di Bondone was a late Middle Age painter and architect and contemporary of the famous writer Dante (The Divine Comedy). Historians comment on his importance as a leader in style and subject matter for generations of artists after him. From an art history perspective, he is important because he broke with the Byzantine style that was so prevalent in his time. In fact, may consider him to be a clear forerunning of the Italian Renaissance style of painting, with less stylized figures, more humanity in expression, and a greater willingness to experiment in color which added to the realism of the piece. He seems particularly adept at capturing the humanity of the individuals within his frescos. While the pictures are certainly stylized, and the requisite halo behind the appropriate religious figures (Jesus, Mary, etc.), he was able to bring humility and realism to other characters (the portly friar, the frumpy serving wench, etc.) And his crucifix works really show the pain, suffering and anguish (ribs, distended belly, open wounds, scars, etc.

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) of the suffering Christ (Kloss, Lecture 6, 12:20-15:08).

Duccio di Buonisegna was active in the Italian city of Tuscany, where he was born. He had a difficult life, was continually in debt, and most historians believe that he had to take on numerous compositions simply in order to survive. He, too, broke down the sharp lines of Byzantine art, softened the figures so they were more realistic, and used a technique of playing with light and dark colors to reveal figures underneath the heavy draped costumes, making the anatomical descriptions more rounded and 3-dimmensional (Kloss, Lecture 8,.2:04-4:55).

Duccio was still more Byzantine than Giotto, using gold backgrounds and familiar religious scenes that told stories. Remembering that many people could not read during this time period, these storyboards were an important way to retell and introduce biblical lore to the general population. Unlike many Byzantine paintings, though, Duccio's use of color makes the scene both more delicate and realistic, inviting the viewer's eye in as a participant. He….....

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