Italian Early Renaissance Painter, 1267-1337 Italian painter and designer. In his own time and place he had an unrivalled reputation as the best painter and as an innovator, superior to all his predecessors, and he became the first post-Classical artist whose fame extended beyond his lifetime and native city. This was partly the consequence of the rich literary culture of two of the cities where he worked, Padua and Florence. Writing on art in Florence was pioneered by gifted authors and, although not quite art criticism, it involved the comparison of local artists in terms of quality. The most famous single appreciation is found in Dante's verses (Purgatory x) of 1315 or earlier. Exemplifying the transience of fame, first with poets and manuscript illuminators, Dante then remarked that the fame of Cimabue, who had supposed himself to be the leader in painting, had now been displaced by Giotto. Ironically, this text was one factor that forestalled the similar eclipse of Giotto's fame, which was clearly implied by the poet.
The Seven Vices
1306 Fresco, 120 x 60 cm Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua Despair {Desperatio) appears as a female suicide - a demon has taken hold other soul. Giotto here uses the painted marble niche in a most impressive fashion in order to display narrative details, such as the way the beam and the rope are fastened. Artist: GIOTTO di Bondone Painting Title: No. 47 The Seven Vices: Desperation , 1301-1350 Painting Style: Italian , , religious