Who was Giotto di Bondone?
Q: Who was Giotto di Bondone?
A: Giotto di Bondone was an Italian painter and architect from Florence who is generally thought of as the first in a line of great artists of the Italian Renaissance.
Q: What did Giovanni Villani say about Giotto?
A: Giovanni Villani, who lived at the same time as Giotto, wrote that he was the king of painters, who drew all his figures as if they were alive.
Q: How did Giorgio Vasari describe Giotto's work?
A: Giorgio Vasari said that Giotto changed painting from the Byzantine style of other artists of his day, and brought to life the great art of painting as it was made by later Renaissance painters like Leonardo da Vinci. This was because Giotto drew his figures from life, rather than copying them from old well-known pictures in the way that Byzantine artists like Cimabue and Duccio did.
Q: What is considered to be one of Giotto's greatest works?
A: One of Giotto's greatest works is considered to be the decoration of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, finished around 1305. The building is sometimes called the "Arena Chapel" because it is on the site of an Ancient Roman arena. This fresco series shows the life of the Virgin and Christ. It is thought to be one of the greatest masterpieces of Early Renaissance art.
Q: How much do we know for certain about Giotto's life?
A: Only two things are known for certain about Giotto's life - it is known that in 1334 he was chosen by Florence's town council to design a bell tower next to Florence Cathedral which was being built at that time; and it is also known for certain that he painted frescos in what became known as Arena Chapel.
Q: Was Giorgio Vasari writing close to when Giotto died?
A: No, Giorgio Vasari wrote more than 200 years afterGiottodied so some stories may not be accurate or true.
