Chapter 8

The debt which painters owe to Nature, which serves continually as an example to them, that from her they may select the best and finest parts for reproduction and imitation, is due also to the Florentine painter, Giotto; because, when the methods and outlines of good painting had been buried for so many years under the ruins caused by war, he alone, although born in the midst of unskilful artists, was able, through God's gift in him, to endow art with a proper form after it had been revived in a bad style. Certainly it was nothing short of a miracle, in so gross and unskilful an age, that Giotto should have worked to such purpose that design of which the men of the time had little or no conception, was revived to a vigorous life by his means. The birth of this great man took place in the year 1276, fourteen miles from Florence, in the town of Vespignano, his father, who was a simple field labourer, being named Bondone. He brought up Giotto as well as his position in life allowed. When the boy had attained the age of ten years he exhibited, in all his childish ways, an extraordinary quickness and readiness of mind, which made him a favourite, not only with his father, but with all who knew him, both in the village and beyond it. Bondone then set him to watch a few sheep, and while he was following these from place to place to find pasture, he was always drawing something from nature or representing the fancies which came into his head, with a stone on the ground or on sand, so much was he attracted to the art of design by his natural inclination. Thus one day when Cimabue was going on some business from Florence to Vespignano, he came upon Giotto, who, while his sheep were grazing, was drawing one of them from life with a pointed piece of stone upon a smooth surface of rock, although he had never had any master but nature. Cimabue stopped in amazement at the sight, and asked the boy if he would like to come and stay with him. Giotto replied he would go willingly if his father would consent. Cimabue lost no time in finding Bondone, who joyfully consented and allowed his son to accompany Cimabue to Florence. After his arrival there, assisted by his natural talent and taught by Cimabue, the boy not only equalled his master's style in a short time, but became such a good imitator of nature that he entirely abandoned the rude Byzantine manner and revived the modern and good style of painting, introducing the practice of making good portraits of living persons, a thing which had not been in use for more than two hundred years. And although there were some few portraits made in this manner, as has been said above, yet they had not been very successful, nor were they nearly so well executed as those of Giotto. Among other portraits which he made, the chapel of the Podesta palace at Florence still contains that of Dante Aligheri, his close companion and friend, no less famous as a poet than Giotto then was as a painter. This poet has been warmly praised by M. Giovanni Boccaccio in the introduction to the story of M. Forese da Rabatta. In this same chapel Giotto has also painted his own portrait as well as those of Ser Brunetto Latini, Dante's master, and M. Corso Donati, a famous citizen of the time. Giotto's first paintings were in the chapel of the high altar of the Badia at Florence, in which he made a number of things which were considered beautiful, but especially an Annunciation. In this he has represented with extraordinary truth the fear and astonishment of the Virgin Mary at the salutation of Gabriel, who, in her terror seems ready to run away. The picture of the high altar in the same chapel is also by Giotto's hand, and it has continued to retain its position there, rather because of a certain reverence which is felt for the work of such a man than for any other reason. In S. Croce there are four chapels decorated by his hand, three between the sacristy and the principal chapel, and one on the other side. In the first of these, that of M. Ridolfo de' Bardi, in which the bell ropes hang, is the life of St Francis, at whose death a number of friars exhibit the effect of weeping with considerable fidelity to nature. In the second, which is that of the family of the Peruzzi, are two subjects from the life of St John the Baptist, to whom the chapel is dedicated. Here is a very life-like representation of the dancing of Herodias, and of the promptitude with which some servants are performing the service of the table. In the same chapel are two miracles of St John the Evangelist, the one representing the raising of Drusiana, the other his being caught up into Heaven. The third chapel, that of the Giugni and dedicated to the Apostles, contains representations by Giotto of the martyrdom of many of them. In the fourth, that of the Tosinghi and Spinelli, which is on the north side of the church and is dedicated to the Assumption of Our Lady, Giotto painted the Nativity of the Virgin, her marriage, the Annunciation, the adoration of the Magi, and the presentation of the Christ child to Simeon. This last is a most beautiful thing, for not only is the warmest love depicted in the face of the old man as he receives the Christ, but the action of the child, who is afraid of him and stretches out his arms to return to his mother, could not be represented with more tenderness or greater beauty. In the Death of Our Lady the Apostles are represented with a number of very beautiful angels. The Baroncelli chapel in the same church contains a painting in tempera by Giotto's hand, in which he has represented with great care the coronation of Our Lady. It contains a very large number of small figures and a choir of angels and saints, produced with great diligence. On this work he has written his name and the date in gold letters. Artists who reflect that at this time Giotto was laying the foundations of the proper method of design and of colouring, unaided by the advantages of seeing the light of the good style, will be compelled to hold him in the highest veneration. In the same church of S. Croce there are in addition a crucifix above the marble tomb of Carlo Marzuppini of Arezzo, Our Lady with St John and the Magdalene at the foot of the cross, and opposite on the other side of the building an Annunciation towards the high altar over the tomb of Lionardo Aretino, which has been restored by modern artists with great lack of judgment. In the refectory he has done the history of St Louis, a Last Supper, and a Tree of the Cross, while the presses of the sacristy are decorated with some scenes from the lives of Christ and of St Francis in small figures. At the church of the Carmine in the chapel of St John the Baptist he represented the whole of that saint's life in several pictures; and in the Palazzo della parte Guelfa at Florence there is the history of the Christian faith painted admirably by him in fresco, and containing the portrait of Pope Clement IV., who founded that monastery to which he gave his arms, retained by them ever since.

After these works Giotto set out from Florence for Assisi in order to finish what Cimabue had begun there. On his way through Arezzo he painted the chapel of St Francis, which is above the baptistery in the Pieve there, and a St Francis and a St Dominic, portraits from life, on a round pillar near to a most beautiful antique Corinthian capital. In the Duomo outside Arezzo he decorated the interior of a large chapel with the Stoning of St Stephen, an admirable composition of figures. On completing these things he proceeded to Assisi, a city of Umbria, whither he was summoned by fra Giovanni di Muro della Marca, at that time general of the friars of St Francis. In the upper church of this town he painted a series of thirty-two frescoes of the life of St Francis, under the corridor which traverses the windows, sixteen on each side, with such perfection that he acquired the highest reputation thereby. In truth the work exhibits great variety, not only in the postures of the different figures, but in the composition of each subject, besides which it is very interesting to see the various costumes of those times and certain imitations and observations of Nature. One of the most beautiful of these represents a thirsty man, whose desire for water is represented in the most lively manner as he kneels on the ground to drink from a spring, with such wonderful reality that one might imagine him to be a real person. There are many other things most worthy of notice into which I will not enter now, because I do not wish to be tedious. Let it suffice to say that by these works Giotto acquired the highest reputation for the excellence of his figures, for his arrangement, sense of proportion, fidelity to Nature, and his innate facility which he had greatly increased by study, while in addition to this he never failed to express his meaning clearly. Giotto indeed was not so much the pupil of any human master as of Nature herself, for in addition to his splendid natural gifts, he studied Nature diligently, arid was always contriving new things and borrowing ideas from her.

When these works were completed Giotto painted in the lower church of the same place the upper part of the walls beside the high altar, and all four angles of the vaulting over the spot where the body of St Francis lies, the whole displaying his beautiful and inventive imagination. The first contains St Francis glorified in Heaven, surrounded by those Virtues which are required of those who wish to be perfect in the sight of God. On the one side Obedience puts a yoke on the neck of a friar who kneels before her, the bands of which are drawn by hands to Heaven. With one finger on her mouth she signifies silence, and her eyes are turned towards Jesus Christ, who is shedding blood from his side. Beside her are Prudence and Humility to show that where true obedience exists, there also will be humility and prudence, causing everything to prosper. In the second angle is Chastity, who will not allow herself to be won by the kingdoms, crowns, or palms which are being offered to her. At her feet stands Purity who is washing the naked, while Fortitude is bringing others to be washed and cleansed. On one side of Chastity is Penitence, chasing a winged Love with the cord of discipline and putting to flight Uncleanness. Poverty occupies the third space, treading on thorns with her bare feet; behind her barks a dog, while a boy is throwing stones at her and another is pushing thorns into her legs with a stick. Poverty here is espoused by St Francis, while Jesus Christ holds her hand in the mystical presence of Hope and Chastity. In the fourth and last of these places is a St Francis in glory, clothed in the white tunic of a deacon, in triumph and surrounded by a multitude of angels who form a choir about him and hold a banner on which are a cross and seven stars, while over all is the Holy Spirit. In each of these angles are some Latin words explanatory of the subject. Besides these four angles the paintings on the side walls are most beautiful, and deserve to be highly valued both for the perfection which they exhibit and because they were produced with such skill that they are in an excellent state of preservation to-day. These paintings contain an excellent portrait of Giotto himself, and over the door of the sacristy is a fresco by his hand of St Francis receiving the stigmata, so full of tenderness and devotion that it seems to me to be the most excellent painting that Giotto has produced here, though all are really beautiful and worthy of praise.

When S. Francesco was at length finished Giotto returned to Florence, where he painted with extraordinary care, a picture of St Francis in the fearful desert of Vernia, to be sent to Pisa. Besides a landscape full of trees and rocks, a new thing in those days, the attitude of the saint, who is receiving the stigmata on his knees with great eagerness, exhibits an ardent desire to receive them and an infinite love towards Jesus Christ, who is in the air surrounded by seraphim granting them to him, the varied emotions being all represented in the most telling manner imaginable. The predella of the picture contains three finely executed subjects from the life of the same saint. The work may now be seen in S. Francesco at Pisa, on a pillar beside the high altar, where it is held in high veneration in memory of so great a man. It led the Pisans, on the completion of their Campo Santo from the plan of Giovanni di Niccola Pisano, as already related, to entrust to Giotto the painting of a part of the walls. For as the exterior of the walls was incrusted with marble and sculptures at a great cost, the roof being of lead, and the interior filled with antique sarcophagi and tombs of Pagan times, gathered together in that city from all parts of the world, the Pisans wished the walls to be decorated with a series of noble paintings. Accordingly Giotto went to Pisa, and beginning at the end of one of the walls of the Campo Santo he depicted the life of the patient Job in six frescoes. Now it occurred to him that the marbles of the part of the building in which he was at work were turned towards the sea, and being exposed to the south-east wind, they are always moist and throw out a certain saltness, as do nearly all the bricks of Pisa, and because the colours and paintings are eaten away by these causes, and as he wished to protect his work from destruction as far as possible, he prepared a coating for the whole of the surface on which he proposed to paint his frescoes, which consisted of a plaster or incrusture made up of lime, chalk and brick-dust. This device has proved so successful, that the paintings which he subsequently executed on this surface, have endured to this day, and they would have stood better had not the neglect of those who should have taken care of them, allowed them to be much damaged by the damp. The want of attention to this detail, which would have involved little trouble, has caused the pictures to suffer a great deal in some places where the damp has converted the crimsons into black and caused the plaster to fall off. Besides this it is the nature of chalk when mixed with lime to become corroded and to peel, whence it happens that the colours are destroyed, although they may originally appear to take well. These frescoes contain the portrait of M. Farinata degli Uberti, besides many fine figures, among which one may remark some countrymen, who in bringing the sad news to Job, exhibit the utmost sorrow for the lost animals and the other misfortunes. There is also much grace in the figure of a servant, who with a fan of branches stands near the bowed figure of Job, abandoned by everyone else, for in addition to the figure being well executed in every particular, his attitude is wonderful, as with one hand he drives away the flies from his leprous and noisome master, and holds his nose with the other with disgust, to escape the smell. Very fine also are the other figures of these pictures and the heads of both men and women, and the delicate treatment of the drapery, so that it is small wonder that the work brought Giotto such renown in that city and elsewhere; that Pope Benedict IX., who was proposing to decorate St Peter's with some paintings, sent a courtier from Treviso to Tuscany, to see what manner of man Giotto was, and to report on the quality of his work. On the way the courtier learned that there were other excellent masters in painting and mosaic in Florence, and he interviewed a number of artists at Siena. When he had received designs from these, he proceeded to Florence. Entering Giotto's shop one morning, as he was at work, the envoy explained to him the Pope's intention, and the manner in which he wished to make use of his work, and finally asked Giotto for some small specimen of work to send to His Holiness. Giotto, who was always courteous, took a sheet of paper and a red pencil, pressed his arm to his side to make a compass of it, and then with a turn of his hand, produced a circle so perfect in every particular that it was a marvel to see. This done, he turned smiling to the courtier and said: "Here is the design." The latter, who thought he was joking, said: "Am I to have no other design but this?" "It is enough and more than enough," replied Giotto; "send it in with the others and you will see if it is recognised." The messenger perceived that he would obtain nothing else, and left in a state of considerable dissatisfaction, imagining that he had been laughed at. However, when he sent in the other designs with the names of their authors, he included that of Giotto, and related how the artist had executed it without moving his arm and without compasses. From this the Pope and all the courtiers present recognised to what an extent Giotto surpassed all the other painters of the time in excellence. When the story became public it gave rise to a saying which is still used for people of dull wits: "You are more round (_tondo_) than Giotto's O." This proverb deserves to be considered a good one, not only from the circumstances out of which it arose, but much more for its meaning, which is due to the two-fold significance of the word _tondo_ in Tuscany, that of a perfect circle, and slowness and heaviness of mind. Accordingly the Pope sent for Giotto to Rome, where he received him with great honour, and recognised his worth. He caused him to paint for the tribune of St Peter's five subjects from the life of Christ, and the principal picture for the sacristy, all of which were executed with great care, nothing in tempera ever leaving his hands before it was perfectly finished; thus he richly deserved the reward of 600 gold ducats which the delighted Pope gave to him, bestowing many other favours upon him, so that it became the talk of all Italy.

As I do not wish to omit a memorable circumstance concerning art, I will notice here that there happened to be in Rome at this time a great friend of Giotto named Oderigi d'Aggobbio, an excellent illuminator of the day, who adorned many books for the Pope for the palace library, though they are now mostly destroyed by time. In my own book of old designs there are some remnants by his hand, and he certainly was a clever artist. But a much better master than he was Francis, an illuminator of Bologna, who did some very fair things for the Pope for the same library at that very time, in a like style, as may be seen in my book, where I have some designs by his hand, both for painting and illuminations, among them an eagle, excellently done, and a fine lion tearing up a tree. These two excellent illuminators are referred to by Dante in the passage on the vainglorious in the eleventh chapter of the Purgatorio, in these lines:

"Oh, dissi lui, non se' tu Oderisi L'onor d'Aggobbio e l'onor di quell' arte Ch' alluminare è chimata in Parisi? Frate, diss' egli, più ridon le carte, Che pennelleggia Franco Bolognese L'onor è tutto or suo, e mio in parte."

When the Pope had seen these works he was so enchanted by Giotto's style that he commissioned him to surround the walls of St Peter's with scenes from the Old and New Testaments. Giotto therefore began these, and painted the fresco of the angle, seven braccia high, which is above the organ, and many other paintings, of which some have been restored by other artists in our own day, and some have been either destroyed or carried away from the old building of St Peter's during the founding of the new walls and set under the organ. Among these was a representation of Our Lady on a wall. In order that it might not be thrown down with the rest, it was cut out, supported by beams and iron, and so taken away. On account of its great beauty, it was afterwards built into a place selected by the devotion of M. Niccolo Acciancoli, a Florentine doctor enthusiastic over the excellent things of art, who has richly adorned it with stucco and other modern paintings. Giotto is also the author of the mosaic known as the Navicella, which is over the three doors of the portico in the courtyard of St Peter's. This is a truly marvellous work, well deserving its high reputation among all persons of taste. In addition to its excellent design, the apostles are admirably disposed, toiling in different ways in the midst of the tempest, while the winds fill the sail, which bellies out exactly like a real one; and yet it is a difficult task so to unite those pieces of glass to form the light and shade of so real a sail, which, even with the brush, could only be equalled by a great effort. Besides all this, there is a fisherman who is standing on a rock and fishing with a line, whose attitude is expressive of the extreme patience proper to that art, while his face betrays his hope and desire to catch something. Beneath the Navicella are three small arches painted in fresco, but as they are almost entirely effaced, I will say no more about them. All artists, however, unite in praise of these works.

At last, when Giotto had painted a large crucifix in tempera in the Minerva, a church of the Friars Preachers, which was then much admired, he returned to his own country, from which he had been absent for six years. But soon after Pope Clement V. was elected at Perugia, on the death of Pope Benedict IX., and Giotto was obliged to accompany the new pontiff to his court at Avignon to execute some works there. Thus, not only in Avignon, but in several other places of France, he painted many very beautiful frescoes and pictures, which greatly delighted the Pope and all his court. When he at length received his dismissal, he was sent away kindly with many gifts, so that he returned, home no less rich than honoured and famous. Among other things which he brought away with him was the Pope's portrait, which he afterwards gave to Taddeo Gaddi, his pupil. The date of this return to Florence was the year 1316. But he was not long permitted to remain in Florence, as he was invited to Padua to do some work for the lords della Scala, for whom he painted a beautiful chapel in the Santo, a church built in those times. He thence proceeded to Verona, where he did some pictures for the palace of Messer Cane, particularly the portrait of that lord, and a picture for the friars of S. Francesco. On the completion of these things he was detained at Ferrara, on his way back to Tuscany, to paint for the lords of Esti in their palace and S. Agostino some things which may be seen there to this day. When the news of Giotto's presence at Ferrara reached the Florentine poet Dante, he succeeded in inducing his friend to visit Ravenna, where the poet was exiled, and caused him to paint some frescoes about the church of S. Francesco for the lords of Polenta, which are of considerable merit. From Ravenna Giotto proceeded to Urbino, and did a few things there. Afterwards he happened to be passing through Arezzo, and being unable to refuse a favour to Piero Saccone, who had been very kind to him, he executed in fresco, on a pillar of the principal chapel of the Vescovado, a St Martin, who is cutting his mantle in two and giving part of it to a beggar who is all but naked. Then, when he had painted in tempera a large crucifix in wood for the Abbey of S. Fiore, which is now in the middle of that church, he at length reached Florence. Here, among many other things, he painted some pictures in fresco and tempera for the Nunnery of Faenza, which no longer exist owing to the destruction of that house.