The Fathers of Gothic Painting: Cimabue, Duccio, and Giotto

Art Year 2 Lesson 13 The Fathers of Gothic Painting

! Academic Concept: During the Gothic period, the style of art changed resulting in artwork that looked more realistic and natural. Though the change most likely was prompted by cultural shifts, we can see how realism had to be relearned. ! Gospel Principle: Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can change. Many of our strengths and faults may be due to our culture, so change requires the gift of discernment. Vocabulary

! Egg Tempera: Ground pigments mixed into a medium of egg yolk and one other ingredient (such as vinegar, white wine, or water). The paint dries very fast and is brittle so it must be on a rigid panel. ! Renaissance Humanism: describes a period of time beginning at the end of the 14th Century, when the cultural focus became less about God and more about classical literature, arts, and people (the subjects commonly referred to as “humanities”). Cimabue, Duccio, Giotto

During the Gothic period, the style of art changed resulting in artwork that looked more realistic and natural. Though the change most likely was prompted by cultural shifts, we can see how the skill of realism had to be relearned. Why the Change: Culture or Skill?

! “Renaissance Humanism” (different then “humanism” today), is a term used to describe the cultural shifts that occured at the end of the 14th Century. There was a greater focus on the broader, cultural history of people themselves rather than a sole focus on Diety. ! The beginnings of this shift of emphasis shows up in the paintings of Cimabue, Duccio, and Giotto as they gradually begin to break with Byzantine style and show figures as real people. Watching the Change through Maeta1! Cimabue2 Duccio3 Giotto4 .

(1)Video comparing Cimabue’s & Giotto’s Maeta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKnFvXmUlOI; and video comparing Giotto’s and Duccio’s work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fijnNzktDI (2) Cimabue Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Trinita_Maestà#mediaviewer/File:Cimabue_Trinita_Madonna.jpg (3) Duccio Image (crop): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maestà#mediaviewer/File:Duccio_Maestà.jpg (4) Giotto Image: http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maestà#mediaviewer/File:Giotto,_1267_Around-1337_-_Maestà_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg Quick Life Sketch: Cimabue ! Cimabue’s real name was Bencivieni di Pepo, but the nickname means “bullheaded.” Even Dante’s Divine Comedy singles him out among the proud in Purgatory. Cimabue was said to have destroyed any work that people (or he himself) didn’t like regardless of its worth.5 But maybe his bull- headedness is why he is still known.

(5) Vasari, Giorgio (Reprinted 1991.). Lives of the Artists, 1550. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 13. (6) Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimabue#mediaviewer/File:Cimabue_madonna_castefliorentino.jpg Quick Life Sketch: Duccio ! Duccio’s greatest work was his Maesta Alterpiece. Some say it is Siena’s rival to Giotto’s Arena Chapel in Florence. The two cities were major rivals between the 13th and 15th centuries. The panel base reads: “Holy Mother of God, be thou the cause of peace for Siena and life to Duccio because he painted thee thus.”7

(7) "Art History: Fourteenth to Seventeenth Century Art" by Marilyn Stokstad (2011) page 543 (8) Front panel image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maestà_(Duccio)#mediaviewer/File:Maest_0_duccio_1308-11_siena_duomo.jpg (9) Back panel image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maestà_(Duccio)#mediaviewer/File:Maest_001_duccio_siena_duomo.jpg Quick Life Sketch: Giotto ! Giotto’s fame eclipsed Cimabue’s as much as his realism did. Although he’s not as accurate as the Renaissance masters who followed him, he was the historic Pioneer of the Renaissance Style. The Pope even gave indulgences to those who visited the Scrovegni Chapel to view his work.10

(10) http://www.artble.com/artists/giotto_di_bondone/paintings/scrovegni_chapel_frescoes (11) Image of Scrovegni Chapel: http://www.artble.com/imgs/b/0/5/523324/scrovegni_chapel_frescoes.jpg Was Realism a Forgotten Skill? ! In the video comparing Cimabue and Giotto’s work, the commentators agree (around 3:30 min) that Cimabue was certainly capable of more realistic work but simply chose not to do it.1 ! This is a presumption made by most art critics and historians on various levels today, because they hold the belief that simply because Realism has already been done before means that it is easy to duplicate again. After all, if the Greeks and Romans achieved high realism, so why couldn’t Cimabue? Was Realism a Forgotten Skill? ! Yet Giotto was “the most sovereign master of painting in his time, who drew all his figures and their postures according to nature. And he was given a salary by the commune [of Florence] in virtue of his talent and excellence.”12 ! If fame and money were more plentiful because of his realistic painting, why would Cimabue choose not to use his skill and do the same? ! What do you think? Is technical, life-like realism easy? Do all great artists naturally know how even if they’ve not practiced?

(12) Biography of Giotto, http://www.giottodibondone.org, accessed Feb 27, 2015 Gospel Principle Title

Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can change. Many of our strengths and faults may be due to our culture, so change requires the gift of discernment. Are You a Product of Culture or Christ? ! Elder David R. Stone, in his April 2006 Conference talk, said, “We seldom realize the extent to which we are a product of the culture of our place and time…Because my wife and I have had the opportunity to live in 10 different countries, we have seen [that] …people in every culture move within a cocoon of self-satisfied self-deception, fully convinced that the way they see things is the way things really are.”13 ! How have you and others been affected by our broader culture? This requires discernment.

(13) https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2006/04/zion-in-the-midst-of-babylon?lang=eng&query=culture Seeing Requires Gifts of God ! Seeing our own need for change is difficult to do. ! Elder Bednar, in his BYU Speech Quick to Observe, he states, “First…discernment helps us detect hidden error and evil in others. Second, and more important, it helps us detect hidden errors and evil in ourselves…Third, it helps us find and bring forth the good that may be concealed in others. And fourth, it helps us find and bring forth the good that may be concealed in us. Oh, what a blessing and a source of protection and direction is the spiritual gift of discernment!” (14) http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1456 Seeing Requires Gifts of God

! Like realism (so easy to do with hindsight alone), we can look backward at other cultures’ successes and freedoms and think it was easy. ! But, like other individuals all cultures, we need the atonement and the gift of discernment to see where our national culture needs to improve and where our moral skills and gospel culture need sharpening in our own lives. Conclusion

During the Gothic period, the style of art changed resulting in artwork that looked more realistic and natural. Though the change most likely was prompted by cultural shifts, we can see how realism had to be relearned.

Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can change. Many of our strengths and faults may be due to our culture, so change requires the gift of discernment.