Florentine Art of Early Trecento

Question 1

Bronze Doors by Andrea Pisano

Answer 1

1330-60 Florence, Italy

• The doors are located on the Florence Baptistery
• Commissioned by the Finishers and Merchants Guild of Florence
• Features 20 scenes from the life of John the Baptist with depictions of the eight virtues towards the bottom
• Giotto’s work was a huge influence on Andrea. For example, Andrea’s Creation of Adam is derived directly from Giotto’s in Scorevegni Chapel, however, Andrea’s version has a full image of God and an array of trees for the Garden of Eden
• The art of doors looks back on medieval Christian works and art from Roman antiquity

Question 2

Scrovegni Chapel or Arena Chapel

Answer 2

1302-05 Padua, Italy

• The frescoes are considered to be Giotto’s greatest achievement
• Chapel is dedicated to the Virgin and there are 38 scenes featuring the lives of Mary and Jesus
• Meeting at the Golden Gate is from the Gospel of James. The story is about Joachim and Anna, Mary’s parents, meeting to share news of them having a child
• The Kiss of Judas fresco is considered to be the most famous image of Judas’s betrayal
• The Divine Comedy was made around the time of Giotto’s frescoes and artists were inspired by it, however, Giotto decide to have limited punishments in his Last Judgement

Question 3

St. Francis Cycle in Bardi Chapel by Giotto

Answer 3

c. 1320s Florence

• Built in the Franciscan church of Santa Croce
• The episode, Test by Fire before the Sultan, is about St. Francis trying to convert the Sultan of Egypt and he offers to prove his faith by walking through fire. However, the Sultan’s Muslim scholars did not offer to
• St. Francis was not an ordinary monk. He acted as a missionary by traveling from city to city trying to convert others
• The black men within Test by Fire are among the earliest known representations of black people in Western art
• The marks (stigmata) St. Francis received on a mountain after reading the Gospels are marks Christians commonly claimed to have received over the centuries

Question 4

Giotto Crucifix

Answer 4

c. 1295 Florence

• Created for Santa Mario Novella Church
• Captures naturalistic shapes and does away with Byzantine style
• Inspired by the School of Franciscan spirituality of suffering crucifixes
• Giotto made a similar crucifix which is located in Ognissanti Church. It was neglected for centuries and took 8 years to restore starting in 2002

Question 5

Campanile by Giotto (lowest level)

Answer 5

1334-37 Florence, Italy

• The bell tower is connected to the Cathedral of Florence
• It is the principle surviving achievement of Giotto’s last years
• The bell tower’s seven stories refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and Joys & Sorrows of the Virgin
• After Giotto’s death, his successors realized that the walls of the first floor were too thin so they had to double the thickness
• Commissioned by the Arte della Lana (The wool guild) of Florence