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Cimabue and Giotto
Giovanni Cimabue's tempera and gold-on-wood Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels was painted in Byzantine style between the years of 1285-1290. Giotto di Bondone's tempera and gold-on-wood Madonna Enthroned was painted during the early Italian Renaissance in 1310. This essay will compare and contrast Cimabue and Giotto's religious paintings during the era of Catholicism.
First I will discuss the foreground of the paintings. In Cimabue's painting (67), four golden columns support the arches of a castle-like throne, typical for the medieval period. Below the arches stand four saints in various hues of dark red, dark blue, bright red, and brown. One saint with a crown on his head looks discontentedly at the other saint. The other two saints by the two outer columns are standing guard, watching over the Madonna.
In the foreground of Giotto's painting (68), two angels are inviting people to come see the Madonna. This is unlike the saints in the artwork by Cimabue, who are guarding the Madonna. The angels kneel on the floor at the base of the throne. They are draped in white with gold frills around their neck and arms. Their long wings are white, red, and yellow. Similar to the saints of Cimabue, we see that the angels have halos surrounding their heads.
The next area we will explore is the mid-ground of both paintings. In Madonna and Child Enthroned with Angels, the mid-ground consists of the Madonna and child. The child resembles a small man.
In Giotto's painting, the mid-ground consists of the Madonna on her throne. Unlike the castle-like structure in Cimabue's painting, this throne looks more like a church.
The last area we will look at is the background of the paintings. In Cimabue, we find a gold and black panel, whereas in Giotto, we are confronted by square like bricks of gold.
Both paintings, in their exquisite detail, are accomplished works of art, and thus deserve their status as masterpieces of the Western artistic canon.
Bibliography
Martin, David F., and Lee a. Jacobus. The Humanities Through the Arts. 7th ed. New York:
Lisa Moore, 2008. 67-68.
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