Movement, Style, School or Type of Art:
Date and Place of Birth:
ca. 1267-75, Vespignano (near Florence), Italy
Unfortunately, the year of Giotto's birth cannot be narrowed down any further than this nine-year spread.
Life:
Legend has it that the artist Cimabue 'discovered' young shepherd boy Giotto doodling on rocks with chalk and immediately took him on as a student. Whether he got his start this way or not, Giotto quickly became the most sought-after painter of his day in Florence, Rome and Naples. While no student of anatomy, the figures Giotto used in his religious frescoes were far more realistic than anything seen since Antiquity - and this realism is the thing for which he is best known today.
Important Works:
- Sta Maria Novella Crucifix, ca. 1290-1300
- Arena Chapel ('Capella degli Scrovegni') frescoes, ca. 1305
- Ognissanti Madonna, ca. 1310
- Life of St. Francis Santa Croce fresco cycle, ca. 1320
- Life of St. John the Baptist and Life of St. John the Evangelist Santa Croce fresco cycles, ca. 1320
Date and Place of Death:
January 8, 1337, Florence, Italy
How To Pronounce "Giotto":
jaw·toe
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