High Middle Ages Giotto di Bondone
(born 1266 or 1267, died 1337) Italian

Although Giotto may have been one of the most famous people of his time, and one of the most sought after artists in Italy, there is no surviving painting that is documented as being by him. As dates of birth were not often recorded in the 13th century, it is not even known exactly when Giotto was born. While a few paintings are signed, this is like a trademark showing it came from Giotto's workshop, but it does not mean it was done by Giotto himself. But, we do know from different sources that the frescoes (paintings on fresh, still wet plaster--usually found on walls or ceilings) of the Arena Chapel in the city of Padua were done by Giotto. By comparing these works with other paintings, art historians and experts work like detectives looking at style and colour. While some works are accepted as the product of Giotto's own hand, others are less certain.

The little that we do know about Giotto, however, still makes him one of the most important artists and thinkers in Western culture ("Western" refers to Western Europe and those areas of North America that later came under European domination). He is seen as the founder of Western painting and art, breaking with centuries old Greek (or "eastern") traditions. Byzantine art had been dominant before, but it was highly stylized and symbolic, used more or less in the same way political advertising is used today, to glorify the political and religious rulers of the day.

Most of Giotto's works still had a religious theme, but he introduced new ideas. His subjects were more natural, he gave them an emotional depth portraits had lacked before, and while perspective was not yet developed, his paintings had a more realistic sense of space.

The frescoes of the Arena Chapel consist of a series of 38 individual paintings, with subjects taken from the lives of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. The series on the life of St. Francis in the Church of San Francesco in the town of Assisi are also considered another of his greatest works, but not all experts agree that these frescoes were done by Giotto.

Giotto's father had a small farm near Florence. When he was about 12 years old, Giotto's skill at drawing had been recognized and he began to work in an art studio. His genius was recognized in his life time, and Giotto became a rich man. Although considered short and not very good looking, he was a great practical joker. In 1334, his native city, Florence, gave him the title of Great Master, and made him chief architect and superintendent of public works. He designed the "campanile" or bell tower of Florence, but Giotto died in 1337 before it was completed.

Mosaic of the Byzantines