Cultura Italiana: Giotto

Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337), known to all as Giotto, is considered the greatest painter of the 14th century. He has been described as the father of Western pictorial art. His works are interesting and unique.

Giotto’s naturalistic approach was his main contribution to art, representing a very radical break with the past. The origins of his style are unclear; scholars believe that both sculpture and painting contributed to Giotto’s artistic training.

Giotto showed his generation and those that followed a new way of looking at the world, which must be observed before it can be analyzed and understood.

Giotto’s new techniques for depicting spatial depth and body mass would not have been possible without his handling of light and shadow. It was the first approach to chiaroscuro, the dramatic contrast between darkness and light. Giotto also laid the foundations of perspective. Giotto’s works served as models for both Renaissance and later painters.

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