Giotto 12671337

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Giotto (1267-1337)

• Giotto di Bondone (known as Giotto)
• 12671337
• Lived in Florence, Italy and was a sculptor,
  architect, and painter
• Considered to be the Father of Modern Painting
• This is a portrait of Giotto painted after his
  death. What do you notice about him in this
  portrait?

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• We know very little about Giottos life.
• Most of what we know are legends made up about
  him over time.
• We dont even know what he looked like.
• On the left is a detail from one of Giottos
  frescoes. It is believed to be a self portrait,
  but nobody knows for sure.
• On the right is a sculpture made of Giotto by
  another artist long after he died. How did the
  sculptor know what Giotto looked like?

Do they look alike? Different? How?
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• One of the legends about Giottos life is about
  how his artistic talent was discovered.
• When he was ten years old, Giotto was tending
  sheep for his father. While he waited for the
  sheep to graze, he sketched what he saw around
  him.
• One day, Cimabue, an artist, came by and found
  him using a sharp rock to sketch on a cleaner
  rock.
• He went to Giottos father and asked his
  permission to take Giotto to Florence to become
  his art teacher.

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• At the time that Giotto was painting, art was
  used mainly in churches.
• Books were very rare and expensive and very few
  people could read.
• What might be happening in this painting?

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• At the time canvas did not exist.
• They used a technique called fresco which is very
  time consuming. The painter had to prepare the
  wall with wet plaster and then painted directly
  on the wet plaster so the paint would dry onto
  the wall.
• Keep in mind that anything you see in color was
  painted in fresco. Lucky for him this is a small
  chapel!

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• Look at the detail of this painting. Can you see
  how the wall is visible in places?
• Why do you think that is?

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• Giotto is considered the father of modern
  painting because he was the first to emphasize
  the art in art.
• Artists before him were simply interested in
  telling a story using pictures and their pictures
  look flat.
• Compare this painting by Giotto (left) to one by
  Cimabue (right) who painted at the same time.
• What are some of the differences that you see?

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• For the first time in the history of painting,
  Giotto used shading to create depth.
• When viewing his paintings, you want to reach out
  and touch the images.
• If you could touch this image, what would you
  feel?

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• He is also known for showing feeling in the faces
  of the people he painted.
• This was a new idea at the time.
• What do you think the characters in this painting
  are feeling? What makes you think that?

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• How do you think Giottos experience as a
  sculptor influenced his painting?
• Do you like his paintings? Why or why not?
• What do you think makes Giotto the father of
  modern painting?