Giotto

 Giotto Elizabeth Stone Giotto di Bondone is a forever inspiring painter in the world of art. He broke church rules, painted like no one else before him, and was clever with the income he recieved. Many famous artists, including, Leonardo da Vinci, Paul Cézanne, Michelangelo and Pablo Picasso used Giotto and his work for inspiration. He has always loved art and he is a person worth remembering.  Born as Giotto di Bondone in 1266 or 1267 in Colle di Vespignano, his family barely had enough money to survive. His father was a shepherd and a farmer. Giotto was in charge of looking after the sheep, but one day he was sketching one of his father’s sheep on a rock with a rock. A famous painter named Giovanni Cimabue was going down a nearby trail and saw how well this boy could draw. Cimabue went over and asked Giotto to be in his workshop. Giotto accepted and soon after, surpassed his teacher in his artwork. Giotto showed his talents early in life.  He left his teacher around 1285 and started to work on his own. In 1287, he married a woman named Ciuta, which is short for Ricevuta. He had eight children with Ciuta, but none of them became as good an artist as he. Giotto saved his money and therefore was rich and clever. He never forgot his childhood in the country and bought many estates in the area. Also because of his wealth, he was friends with the Pope and King Robert of Naples. His personality was rich too; he was homely, short, a great practical joker and had lots of wit.  His paintings were unique along with his personality. When he was born, painters used the flat, Byzantine method, but he introduced a new method of naturalism. He created convincing people in the world of art with emotion and depth in his background. Giotto even painted people he saw in the streets! In 1305, he was summoned to Padua to do a series of frescoes on the Arena Chapel for Enrico Scrovenji. The Arena Chapel was a chapel Enrico made to make up for his father’s sins. Most of the scenes depict Christ and the Virgin Mary in scenes like the Last Judgment, which was the scene when Jesus died on the cross. Most of his work showed Christ’s human side. There is a painting called the Ognissant Madonna, which means Madonna and Child that is in the Uffizi Chapel, Florence. It is the only known factually known panel painting to have been done by him. In 1310 did an immense mosaic of the Navicello at St. Peter’s, Rome. The Navicello is a religious ship in Christianity. It is one of his most famous pieces of artwork. Finally, in 1330, Giotto painted two chapels in Florence about St. Francis of Assisi and St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. The St. Francis frescoes are more famous and were done in the Upper and Lower Church of Assisi. Meanwhile, St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist were done in the Peruzzi Chapel. From 1328 to 1334, Giotto worked for the King of Naples, but none of the works remain.  After working for the King of Naples he went to Florence and was honored as the Magnus Magister, which means Great Magician. He was appointed city architect and superintendent of public works. Giotto designed the Florence Cathedral’s bell tower, today known as the Campanile or Giotto’s tower. The tower was going smoothly; they already had the first two stories done by January 1337. Then, Giotto dies on January 8, 1337. He died when he was seventy years old. He was buried with honor at the Florence Cathedral which is also known as the Santa Reparata. The designs on the tower were altered after his death.  Giotto will always be remembered as a risk taker and a bold painter. Giotto was a painter of inspiration and new ideas. He took a risk of painting a new way by himself. He painted many paintings or frescoes that made him as famous as he is today. One thing is for sure though; he will always be a forever inspiration, like a gift that keeps on giving. WORKS CITED Buser, Thomas. “Giotto di Bondone.” //Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.// 2009. Grolier Online.  28 April 2009. Cole, Bruce. “Giotto di Bondone.” //The New Book of Knowldege®.// 2009. Grolier Online. Corrain, Lucia. “Giotto.” NY: Peter Bedrick Books. 1995. “Giotto di Bondone.” Webmuseum, Paris. April 24 2009. Kossof, Florence. “Giotto.” //Encyclopedia America.// 2009. Grolier Online. 1 May 2009. Rabiner, Donald. “Giotto.” //World Book Student.// 2009. 26 April 2009. Venezia, Mike. “Giotto.” NY: Children’s Press, 1994.