1. 13TH
AND 14TH
C. ITALY
M.F.VAHEY

2. 1300-1400 Proto-Renaissance
This is a transitional period. In the
art of Florence and Siena there is a
move away from medieval abstract
depictions of space and the human body
as artists began to focus on the
illusion of mass and space and the
expression of human emotion.
With hindsight, it is possible to trace
elements of Renaissance art back to
this period.

3. This century saw the creation of the
beautiful poetry of Dante and Petrarch, but
it is also the century that saw the worst
outbreak of the Bubonic plague (known then
as the Black Death) which wiped out close
to half the population of Europe—a
terrifying statistic, difficult to imagine
today.
This chapter focuses on two Italian city-
states—Florence and Siena—both proud
republics in the 14th century, and the
great painters of those city-states, Giotto
and Cimabue in Florence, and Duccio,
Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers in

4. We have bodies
that exist in
space, and this
has been a
fundamental
challenge for
artists.
Polykleitos,
Doryphoros
(Spear-Bearer)
or The Canon,
c.450bce,

5. In ancient Greece
and Rome, artists
embraced the
realities of the
human body and
the way that our
bodies move in
space
(naturalism).
Polykleitos,
Doryphoros
(Spear-Bearer)
or The Canon,
c.450bce,

6. Berlinghieri. St Francis 1235 Tempera on wood Church of San
Francesco, Pescia
• For the next
thousand years
though, after Europe
transitioned from a
pagan culture to a
Christian one in the
middle ages, the
physical was largely
ignored in favor of
the heavenly,
spiritual realm.
Medieval human
figures were still
rendered, but they
were elongated,
flattened and
static, or in other
words, they were

7. Berlinghieri. St Francis 1235 Tempera on wood Church of San
Francesco, Pescia
• S. Francis and the
two flanking angels
harken back to the
Byzantine style
(maniera greca)
• However the
vignettes show the
beginnings of
naturalism

8. Byzantine icon painting
Virgin and Child, c.550
Note the emphasis on symmetry, extreme
frontality, heavy haloes, expressionless
faces.

9. Space
Instead of earthly settings, we
often see flat, gold backgrounds.
There were some exceptions along
the way, but it’s not until the
end of the 13th century in Italy
that artists began to (re)explore
the physical realities of the
human figure in space. Here, they
begin the long process of figuring
out how space can become a
rational, measurable environment
in which their newly naturalistic
figures can sit, stand and move.

10. Giotto di Bondone, Lamentation (composition from
Byzantine art) new power through intense reading of

11. • Same theme—Giotto removed stylized
conventions of drapery and replaced them
with the physicality of the body.
• The two seated figures with backs to us
are witnesses to the event and present
mass in pyramidal shapes.
• Giotto has reconciled spiritual and
Nerezi, Lamentation

12. Florence & Siena
In Italy, there were two city-
states where we can see this
renewed interest in the human
figure and space: Florence and
Siena.
The primary artists in Siena were
Duccio, the Lorenzetti Brothers,
and Simone Martini.
And in Florence, we look to the
art of Cimabue and Giotto.

13. Whereas medieval artists often
preferred a flat, gold background,
these artists began to construct
earthly environments for their
figures to inhabit. We see landscapes
and architecture in their paintings,
though these are often represented
schematically. These Florentine and
Sienese artists employed diagonal
lines that appear to recede and in
this way convey a simple illusion of
space, though that space is far from
rational to our eyes. When we look
closely, we can see that the space
would be impossible to move through,
and that the scale of the
architecture often doesn’t match the
size of the figures.

14. A Word of Caution
Be careful here! While it is
tempting to think of this
movement toward naturalism as
“progress” it is important to
remember that this art is not
less good, nor even less
“advanced” than what comes later
in the Renaissance (you might
think of Leonardo or
Michelangelo).
Art is always a response to the
needs of the moment and for the
late 13th and early 14th century,
symbols of the spiritual remained
potent systems for
understanding.

15. From Gothic to
Renaissance

16. Cimabue.
Madonna and Child
Enthroned with Eight
Angels and Four Prophets
(Maestà). 1280.
Tempera on panel.
Santa Trinita, Florence
One of the first artists
to break away from the
Italo-Byzantine style.

17. He modeled his large
image on Byzantine
examples
Used gold
embellishments common
to Byzantine art
Inspired by naturalism
Constructed deeper
space for the Madonna
and surrounding figures
Despite such advances…
the altarpiece in a
final summary of

18. detail

19. Giotto and his teacher Cimabue

20. ca. 1310 Florence
The Italo-Byzantine
style was abandoned
altogether by Giotto
di Bondone, who
adopted a more
naturalistic approach
based on the
observation of
nature. In his
Madonna Enthroned,
forms are
foreshortened and
modeled in light and
shade to create
figures that have
sculptural solidity

21. Arena Chapel (Cappella Scrovegni) Padua, Italy,

23. Giotto, Betrayal of Jesus
(Kiss of Judas) Arena Chapel, c.1305

24. detail

26. Lamentation (intimate, dramatic view)
vertical figures—break monotony of long horizontal fig. of
Christ
diagonal rock—creates gentle upward movement to a tree

27. Giotto, Lamentation, Arena Chapel, Padua, c.
1305
Lamentation, wall painting St. Pantaleimon,

28. • Same theme—Giotto removed stylized
conventions of drapery and replaced them
with the physicality of the body.
• The two seated figures with backs to us
are witnesses to the event and present
mass in pyramidal shapes.
• Giotto has reconciled spiritual and
Nerezi, Lamentation

29. Giotto. The Epiphany. c.1320. Tempera on panel.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

30. REPUBLIC OF SIENA
International Style
Love graceful and delicate details
International Style—fusion of North
European and Italian traditions.
Appealed to aristocratic tastes
Characteristics: bright colors,
chivalrous elegance, and
naturalistic rendering of detail.
Virgin of Jeanne d’Evreaux
from the abbey church of Saint-
Denis
Saint-Denis, France, 1339

31. Duccio altarpiece Maestà (Majesty) is a

32. Duccio, Maesta altarpiece, Siena Cathedral,
1306-11
Duccio shows relaxed, naturalistic figures
modeled in light and dark and painted with
considerable sensitivity to color and texture.

33. • Composition’s formality and symmetry—
recall Byzantine tradition
• Figures—show relaxed frontality and
rigidity
• Drapery on end figures—falls and curves
loosely
– This is a feature of Northern Gothic
works and highlights the artistic

34. The Maesta was a
public commission.
The Virgin became
the offical
patroness of Sienna
It celebrated a
commercial success
over their rival
Florence
The theme is
thanksgiving

35. Verso of Duccio’s Maesta altarpiece

36. Duccio is moving
toward more natural
presentation of the
physicality of the
body. The figures are
occupying space more
clearly. No longer do
they float in space.

37. Duccio, Betrayal of Jesus (continuous narrative)
Judas’s kiss, disciples fleeing, Peter cutting off ear
Golden background and rock formation—traditional
NOW…Figures have mass, draperies are convincing, posture, gesture
and facial expressions display emotions.
Duccio moved toward humanizing religious subject matter.

38. Let’s compare:
Duccio’s modeling of faces and shading of drapery
describe the figures’ three-dimensionality.
But…note the crisp outlines of shapes created by
the clothing
Duccio avoids the face-to-face confrontation

39. Many panels
reveal his skill
as a narrative
painter, showing
figures who react
to the central
event with
appropriate
physical gestures
and expressions
of emotion.

42. Duccio, Maesta detail, Ministry of Christ,
Temptation on the Mountain, Frick Museum NYC

43. Madonna and Child, ca.
1300
Duccio di Buoninsegna

44. Simone Martini Annunciation 1333 Siena
Younger master of Duccio’s school
instrumental in creating the “International

45. Hallmarks of the Internationalstyle:
elegant shapes
radiant color
fluttering line
weightless figures
spaceless setting

46. Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Italy 1288-1309
City fathers wanted the success to be memorialized.
They commissioned Ambrogio Lorenzetti to create a
tribute to the city in the town hall.

48. Good Government in the City, 1338-39

49. Peaceful Country details what an effective
administration can do and how the citizens can also
perform their roles.
Focuses on—slowly changing perception of Italian
society.
They begin to see themselves as individuals working
within a community.

50. Blanche of Castille, Louis IX
and two monks
dedication page (folio 8 recto)
of a moralized Bible
from Paris, France
1226-1234
ink, tempera and gold leaf on vellum
15 x 10 1/2 in.
The royal court in Paris
was the arbiter of taste
in western Europe since
the days of Louis IX.
However. The Hundred
Years’ War weakened the
power of the nobility.
French sculptors and
painters found new outlets
such as personal
devotional objects and
books for wealthy patrons.

51. Illuminated Manuscripts…Book of Hours
(private prayer books) became popular
in France by the late 13th
c.

53. Jean Pucelle, The Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux, c.1324
MMA
Joys and Sorrows of the Virgin
Joy…Annunciation
Sorrow…betrayal and arrest

54. Betrayal and arrest
of Christ
Note:
Gothic s-curve of
Jesus (mirrored in
the Virgin on the
opposite page)
Lantern held high to
indicate night
Christ heals Malchus
(asst. to high
priest)
Below print scenes of
secular amusements
sometimes off-color
jokes

55. Annunciation
Gothic s-curve
Candle held by
cleric who guards
the ‘doo’ to
Jeanne’s devotional
retreat
Rabbit and other
sexually charged
symbols of fertility

56. The Castle of Love and knights jousting
jewelry casket, from Paris, France, ca. 1330-
1350, ivory and iron, 4 1/2 x 9 3/4 in.
This casket is carved with scenes from
romances and allegorical literature
representing the courtly ideals of love and
heroism.

57. In the center of the lid, knights joust as
ladies watch from the balcony; to the left,
knights lay siege to the Castle of Love, the
subject of an allegorical battle.
The remaining scenes on the casket are drawn
from well-known stories about Aristotle and
Phyllis, Tristan and Iseult, and tales of

58. Virgin of Jeanne
d’Evreaux
from the abbey church of
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis, France
1339
silver gilt and enamel
27 1/2 in. high

60. Tristan and Iseult at the Fountain; Capture of the Unicorn

61. The Holy Roman Empire
By the 14th
c. the Italian
territories has become divided
into multiple states with
powerful regional associations
and princes. The Holy Roman
emperors, elected by Germans,
concentrated on securing the
fortunes of their families.
The ordeals of the 14th
c.—
famines, wars, plagues—helped
inspire a nystical religiosity
in Germany that emphasized both
ecstatic joy and extreme

62. Pietà (Vesperbild), ca. 1400
Bohemian
Limestone
15 x 15 3/8 x 5 1/2 in. (38.1 x 39.1 x 14 cm)
The Cloisters Collection, 2001 (2001.78)

63. In German, this subject is
called a Vesperbild, an image
for use during ritual
devotions at sundown.
More broadly, it's an example
of an Andachtsbild, an image
intended to stimulate
meditation.
For this reason, the holy
figures are isolated from
their narrative context and
presented in a pose and a
moment that amplify the
statue's emotional import.
The Roettgen Pietà (Vesperbild), polychromed wood, 34’, ca.
1360, Landesmuseum, Bonn