Four school pictures (Nos. 1313, 1315-1317) illustrate the example set
by Giotto, who influenced very strongly indeed all art-manifestation
during the fourteenth century, an age when the human body was denied
all intrinsic significance. His profound feeling, gay colour, high
dramatic power, and sense of form mark the emancipation of Italian
art from the rigid formalism of the Byzantine manner. He discovered
a style which was admirably suited to the spirit of his time, and
developed for his own purposes a sense of perspective which he employed
with considerable effect, although he never really found a scientific
statement of the artistic principles which he instinctively perceived.
His indefatigable energy and innate genius enabled him to distance his
rivals and to bequeath to his countrymen a heritage which profoundly
affected the art of Italy.
Foremost among his followers, who imitated his mannerisms without
understanding the full significance of his ideas, was Taddeo Gaddi
(1300?-1366), to whom are assigned in the official Catalogue the
predella pictures (No. 1302) of (_a_) _The Death of St. John the
Baptist_, (_b_) _Calvary_, and (_c_) _Judas Iscariot_. Taddeo Gaddi, a
painter and architect, was the godson and pupil of Giotto as well as
the pupil of his father, Gaddo Gaddi. Taddeo’s desire to give suitable
expression to each of his figures often resulted, as in that of the
daughter of Herodias in the second of these panels, in exaggeration.
Taddeo’s son, Agnolo Gaddi (1333-1396), who was described by Ruskin as
“rather stupid in religious matters and high art,” may be the painter
of the _Annunciation_ (No. 1301), in which we see the Virgin seated in
a loggia to the right of the picture. The Archangel Gabriel announces,
by the gesture of the right hand, that the Virgin shall be the Mother
of the Christ. God the Father is shown in the heavens. Notice the
gold background and the mosaics of the loggia. The mechanical methods
and uninspired aims of the Giottesques, the artists who worked during
the century which followed the death of Giotto, are well seen in the
productions of Lorenzo di Bicci (fl. 1370-1409), his son Bicci di
Lorenzo (fl. 1373-1424), and his grandson Neri di Bicci (1419-1491).
Neri is represented by a _Madonna and Child_ (No. 1397). He might
justly be described as a mere manufacturer of Giottesque pictures to
order. He brought art down to the level of a trade, his work being flat
and his colour raw and inharmonious.
A _Virgin and Infant Christ_ (No. 1563), inscribed “TVRINVS VANNIS DE
PISIS ME PIQSIT P,” is evidently by Turino Vanni (fl. 1390-1398), a
rare artist of this group of Florentine painters. The brief list of his
pictures might be increased by having added to it a few panels at Pisa
and Assisi, which are erroneously ascribed to Buffalmacco.
Andrea Orcagna (1308?-1368?) and his brother Nardo are not represented
in the Louvre, but we have a follower of Agnolo Gaddi in Lorenzo Monaco
(1370?-1425), who is seen to advantage in his _Christ in the Garden of
Gethsemane_ and his _Holy Women preparing the Tomb_ (No. 1348A), which
is inscribed “ANNO DÑI 1408,” and was formerly attributed to Gentile da
Fabriano. Lorenzo Monaco is officially credited with a triple picture
(No. 1348) of (_a_) _St. Agnes_ with her lamb and a martyr’s palm
branch; (_b_) _St. Lawrence_, the artist’s name-saint, holding in his
right hand a book and palm branch, and enthroned on a gridiron, the
symbol of his martyrdom; and (_c_) _St. Margaret_, the patron saint of
Woman as Mother, standing on the dragon. Lorenzo Monaco, who is reputed
to have been the master of Fra Angelico, usually depicts long, slender,
and sinuous bodies. Below this picture hangs a small panel, apparently
part of the predella of an unidentified altarpiece. It does not seem
to be included in the official Catalogue, and has neither a number by
which to identify it nor a label to denote its subject or authorship!
The picture has apparently never been referred to or described in any
article or book. It certainly represents the Emperor Heraclius carrying
the True Cross into Jerusalem. The picture appears to have been painted
by Giovanni del Ponte (fl. 1385-1437).
Neither Starnina (1354-1408), who took the traditions of Early
Florentine painting to Spain, Masolino (fl. 1383-1435), who is rarely
met with out of Italy, nor Masaccio (1401-28), who may be said to
have vitalised Italian art, is represented in the Louvre. Tommaso
Masaccio, the “Hulking Tom” of Browning, gave to Italy and the world
the magnificent series of frescoes which still decorate the Brancacci
Chapel of the Carmine Church in Florence. He imparted to his figures
such natural movement, vivacity of expression, free attitudes, simple
draperies, and excellent modelling that he entirely revolutionised the
art of Florence. His figures are, as Vasari said, “so lifelike that
they seem to live and breathe.” This series of frescoes was studied
with enthusiasm by all the great Florentine painters; Leonardo,
Raphael, Michelangelo, and innumerable other artists derived the
greatest possible benefit from them.