This great artist, one of the fathers of modern painting, was born at
Vespignano, a small town near Florence, in 1276. He was the son of a
shepherd named Bondone, and while watching his father's flocks in the
field, he showed a natural genius for art by constantly delineating the
objects around him. A sheep which he had drawn upon a flat stone, after
nature, attracted the attention of Cimabue, who persuaded his father,
Bondone, to allow him to go to Florence, confident that he would be an
ornament to the art. Giotto commenced by imitating his master, but he
quickly surpassed him. A picture of the Annunciation, in the possession
of the Fathers of Badia at Florence, is one of his earliest works, and
manifests a grace and beauty superior to Cimabue, though the style is
somewhat dry. In his works, symmetry became more chaste, design more
pleasing, and coloring softer than before. Lanzi says that if Cimabue
was the Michael Angelo of that age, Giotto was the Raffaelle. He was
highly honored, and his works were in great demand. He was invited to
Rome by Boniface VIII., and afterwards to Avignon by Clement V. The
noble families of Verona, Milan, Ravenna, Urbino, and Bologna, were
eager to possess his works. In 1316, according to Vasari, he returned
from Avignon, and was employed at Padua, where he painted the chapel of
the Nunziata all' Arena, divided all around into compartments, each of
which represents some scriptural event. Lanzi says it is truly
surprising to behold, not less on account of its high state of
preservation beyond any other of his frescos, than for its graceful
expression, and that air of grandeur which Giotto so well understood.
About 1325 he was invited to Naples by King Robert, to paint the church
of S. Chiara, which he decorated with subjects from the New Testament,
and the Mysteries of the Apocalypse. These, like many of his works, have
been destroyed; but there remains a Madonna, and several other pictures,
in this church. Giotto's portraits were greatly admired, particularly
for their air of truth and correct resemblance. Among other illustrious
persons whom he painted, were the poet Dante, and Clement VIII. The
portrait of the former was discovered in the chapel of the Podesta, now
the Bargello, at Florence, which had for two centuries been covered with
whitewash, and divided into cells for prisoners. The whitewash was
removed by the painter Marini, at the instance of Signor Bezzi and
others, and the portrait discovered in the "Gloria" described by Vasari.
Giotto was also distinguished in the art of mosaic, particularly for the
famous Death of the Virgin at Florence, greatly admired by Michael
Angelo; also the celebrated Navicella, or Boat of St. Peter, in the
portico of the Basilica of St. Peter's at Rome, which is now so
mutilated and altered as to leave little of the original design.
As an architect, Giotto attained considerable eminence, according to
Milizia, and erected many important edifices, among which is the
bell-tower of S. Maria del Fiore. The thickness of the walls is about
ten feet; the height is two hundred and eighty feet. The cornice which
supports the parapet is very bold and striking; the whole exterior is of
Gothic design, inlaid with marble and mosaic, and the work may be
considered one of the finest specimens of campanile in Italy.