Sources:
Thursday, September 5, 2013
One of the first paintings to be done with a Renaissance style was the Madonna Enthroned, dating around the 1310. Giotto original painted the Madonna Enthroned for the high altar of the Ognissanti Franciscan church in Florence. This painting depicts a joyful Virgin Mary seated with the baby Jesus on her lap, with saints and angels circled around them.
The Madonna Enthroned shows the several styles of art that influenced Giotto. He continues the traditional Italo-Byzantine style by using gold shading throughout the artwork and with the flattened gold background. The altarpiece is said to represents a formalized illustration of an icon, still retaining the stiffness of Byzantine art, and Giotto represented the hierarchy by centralizing Madonna and the Christ Child. Also, he made them much larger in size than the surrounding saints and religious figures. However, Giotto does do something unique for this time; he paints his images in thee-dimension and adds emotion into their painted faces. He does this by using a technique called chiaroscuro; which uses the contrasts of light to give life to his figures. Giotto has managed to capture the tenderness and wonder of Mary as she cares for her infant son. The detail that Giotto put into this painting is what makes it so beautiful.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Good post, and link to different styles. The virgin mary plays such a larger role in religion in the premodern world as a protectress.
ReplyDeleteI thought the fact that Giotto did not completely abandon the contemporary Byzantine style but simply added to it. That, and that Giotto also incorporated the idea of hierarchy into this piece. This shows that his style is still relevant to the Middle Ages.
ReplyDelete