AHIS 120g 1st Edition Lecture 15Current LectureArt in 13th and 14th century Italy - Frescoes of Arena Chapel, Giotto (ca. 1305)o Giotto’s innovative ideas about light and space were accompanied by a gift ofstorytelling. o Dedicated to ‘Our Lady of Charity’, the structure is a one-room hall covered witha barrel vault. o The chapel is painted from floor to ceiling in fresco painting. o A blue field with fold stars symbolic to Heaven dominates the barrel vault, belowwhich the walls are divided into three registers—horizontal rows.  Each register contains rectangular fields for narrative scenes representingthe lives of the Virgin and Christ. o The theme commemorates the Incarnation of Christ and marks the beginning ofthe plan of salvation.  At the other end of the chapel, Giotto depicted the Last Judgment. o At the foot of the Last Judgment, Giotto has included the figure of the donor,offering his chapel to the Virgin and angels. o The top register depicts stories of the early life of Mary and her parents.o The center register focuses on stories of Christ’s life and miracles.o The lowest register depicts his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Frescoes of Arena Chapel, Giotto (ca. 1305)—continued - Christ Entering Jerusalem.o Palm Sunday. o Giotto places the entire scene in the foreground of his image, which brings theevents very close to the viewer. o Giotto gives forms a strong three-dimensional quality that they almost seem assolid as sculpture. o The rounded forms create the illusion of space.o The large simple forms, strong grouping of figures, and the limited depth of hisstage give his scenes a remarkable spatial coherence. - The Lamentationo Giotto’s skill at perfectly matching composition and meaning may also be seen inthe scenes on the lowest register, which focus on the Passion. o The Lamentation depicts a moment of last farewell between Jesus and hismother and friends. o The tragic mood is created by the formal rhythm of the design as well as by thegestures and expressions of the participants. The low center gravity and the hunched figures convey the somberquality of the scene, as do the cool colors and bare sky. o The simple setting heightens the impact of the drama.  The descending slope of the hill acts as a unifying element that directsattention toward the heads of Christ and the Virgin.- Giotto’s frescoes in the Arena Chapel established his fame among his contemporaries. o In the Divine Comedy, written about 1315, the Italian poet Dante Alighierimentions the rising reputation of Giotto—“Once Cimabue thought to hold thefield as painter, Giotto now is all the rage, dimming the luster of the other’sfame.”Sienna- Duccio di Buoninsegna of Siena directed another busy and influential workshop in theneighboring Tuscan city of Siena.- Siena competed with Florence on a number of fronts—economic, military and cultural. - Siena took the Virgin Mary as its protector and patron. - Virgin and Child in Majesty (Maesta) (ca. 1308)o Adornment for the cathedral—an altarpiece.o Painted in tempera, Duccio’s image measures 7 b 13 feet without its architecturalframe and many subsidiary elements.o It takes the shape of a polyptych—a multipaneled work.o The regal figures of the Virgin and Child in the Maesta sit on a complex thronedraped in golden cloth.o The Virgin is the largest and most impressive figure. Swathed in the rich blue, surrounded by a balanced arrangement of saintsand angles bearing a golden halo. o Duccio relaxes the rigid, angular of classicism so that they give way to anundulating softness. o Byzantine painting preserved aspects of ancient illusionism, which inspiredDuccio to a profound degree. The large use of gold—gold is characteristic of Byzantine. o Duccio also reflects contemporary Gothic sensibilities in the fluidity of thedrapery, the appealing naturalness of the figures, and the glances by which thefigures communicate with each