The Two Madonna’s

For this assignment, you will refer to pages 424 (Cimabue’s Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets), and 426 (Giotto’s Madonna Enthroned) from the Chiesa di Ognissanti (All Saints’ Church). MindTap for Gardner’s Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective, 16th Edition, Fred S. Kleiner, Ph.D.
Copyright 2021 Published Previous Editions 2017.

Research both pieces, including the information found on these pages in your text. Giotto was the white light before the dawn of the Renaissance. He broke with the old and created something entirely new in painting. Without him, the story of art may have taken a drastically altered course. Giotto was born in a lovely valley about fourteen miles from Florence. His parents owned goats and sheep, and there is a story suggesting that while he was tending to his animals on a mountainside, he began drawing figures of the animals on horizontal stones. Cimabue supposedly walked by and was amazed by Giotto’s drawing. He was a prominent painter in Florence at that time. He purportedly asked Giotto to his studio, and the rest is history (no pun intended)! This most likely happened, because in those days artists did learn as apprentices for an Artist in their workshop. They would grind up pigments and mix paint, and begin by painting small areas on a canvas, and eventually paint larger and larger areas. Cimabue was still painting in the Byzantine tradition, and Giotto was the first artist to break away from this custom of painting. In those days there were no art schools. Up-and-coming artists learned their trade by an artist who was already established.

For this assignment, please be sure to watch the YouTube video and read the articles about these two pieces located in the Supplemental Resources folder.

Please address the following in your essay:

Research the artists and the time in which they worked so that you can place their work in a historical context. How did Giotto break with tradition? Look closely at the two Madonna’s. How do they differ? Examine the space, depth, and perspective around the figures, especially the viewpoints. Describe all the differences that exist in how the Madonna’s were depicted. Are there any similarities? Please be sure to include them. You may also refer to The Elements of Art to help you critically analyze these artworks and compare them. Utilizing these vocabularies will really help you increase your analytical skills, and hence effectively evaluate artwork in a critical way.

Essay Writing Requirements:

Please be sure to double-space and use one-inch margins.