The Unknown Giotto

There are many uncertainties about Giotto. It is said that Giotto was born in
Romignano, they have a plaque there that states this claim, but now it is believed he was born in Florence. The year he was born was calculated from a poem written at the time of his death. The poem said he was seventy years old when he died, but seventy fit the rhyme scheme of the poem. So that age may not be accurate. The artist Cimabue discovered his lifelike renderings of sheep and asked Giotto's father if Giotto could become his apprentice.

 

Then there is the controversy about Giotto actually painting the frescoes of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Cimabue went to the basilica to work on the frescoes and it is believed that Giotto went with him. Some believe that Giotto painted most of the frescoes and some believe that a collection of artists painted them. People have tried to compare the frescoes with other known frescoes and have come to the conclusion that the frescoes were done by many different artists. The only way we would have know the artists is if Napoleon had not destroyed the records of the basilica.