for most people giotto is the first name in european painting since antiquity. that he had breathed fresh life into painting was recognized by his contemporaries, and later by ghiberti and vasari. he had "that art which had been buried for centuries by the errors of some who painted more to please the eyes of the ignorant than the intellect of the wise," wrote boccaccio (some ten years after the artist's death) in a tale of the decameron, in which he stressed both the physical ugliness and lively wit of "the best painter in the world."
before giotto, painting was still considered a craft, a "mechanical" art. giotto came to occupy a position of great respect in florence, a city that was one of the most important centres of trade and commerce in europe. he was representative of that spirit of rationality and efficiency typical of the florentine mercantile class of the time. though he was employed by the bardi and peruzzi families, owners of the most important european banking houses of the day, he never limited his activity to florence, and prestigious commissions in other parts of italy kept him constantly on the move. he worked at the basilica of san francesco at assisi, then one of the most prominent churches in christendom; for the pope; for enrico scrovegni, the richest and most influential citizen of padua; for the king of naples; for azzone visconti, the signore of milan and he provided the high altarpiece for st. peter's, rome. at a time when italy's flourishing economy made every italian city an independent cultural and artistic centre, giotto transcended regional barriers and the impact of his art was felt throughout the peninsula.
in his lifetime giotto had raised painting to a prestigious level among the arts, to such a high level that it influenced sculpture rather than vice versa, as is demonstrated by the work of the great andrea pisano. italian painting can be said to have changed more radically with the appearance of giotto than ever before. the impulse that giotto gave to the arts was so great that it determined the destiny of european painting. by the middle of the fourteenth century europe had already become aware of giotto's innovations, which accorded with the growing secular tendency in european society. his rediscovery of the third dimension, of real and measurable space, of the natural appearance of surfaces, of the individualizing aspects of reality - all this became the inheritance of european art.
on the following pages an overview of giotto's masterworks is presented. the overview covers the panel paintings including altarpieces and crucifixes, the frescoes in the church of san francesco at assisi, the frescoes in the arena chapel in padua (cappella scrovegni) as well as the frescoes in the peruzzi and bardi chapels of the santa croce in florence.
