Giotto in Florence

This tempera on wood may well represent the first work that Giotto executed in full autonomy. It was painted around 1290 for the church of San Giorgio alla Costa (today is preserved in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo) Originally the table had to be cuspidate, as usually in the thirteenth century, it was subsequently sawn on all sides, in particular on the upper one where an arch was shaped. Stored for years in a warehouse near the church of Santo Stefano al Ponte, it was seriously damaged by the attack in via dei Georgofili in 1993. It has been expertly restored by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.

Hanging midway down the central nave, you can admire this grandiose crucifix revolutionized the traditional iconography of the subject. Giotto depicted a human Christ who truly suffering from pain and the force of gravity. The iconography was in line with the new religious sensitivity that also acknowledged the dimension of Christ. The detail of the hands is extraordinary. On the sides are depicted Saint John the Evangelist and the Virgin.

The Virgin is seated on a wide throne, artfully foreshortened, with a child on her surrounded by a colorful array of angels and saints. It was painted when Giotto had already achieved great fame and was a painter requested by clients from all over Italy. The Maestà of Ognissanti stands out for the naturalism with which she carries out this traditional theme. The decorative elements of the clothes are minimal to emphasize the plasticity of the bodies, shaped by lights and shadows.

The polyptych of Badia is one of the artist's greatest masterpieces, a capital work in the history of Italian art. The work is made up of five triangular-shaped compartments: the central one depicts the Madonna and Child. On the sides, from left, Saints Nicholas of Bari, John the Evangelist, Peter and Benedict. in the cusps inside the rounds are painted the busts of angels and in the center the blessing Christ. The painting was made for the Badia Fiorentina church, between the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century.

The work was originally displayed on the presbytery not far from his other work made for this church (the famous Maestà conserved at the Uffizi Gallery). At the end of a long restoration intervention in 2005, the work was acknowledged to be the work of the great master himself about the year 1315. The details of the anatomical representation are remarkable, and so is the painfully intense expression of Christ. At the end of the crossbar, as in the case of the Crucifix of Santa Maria Novella, the morning figures of Mary and John are represented.

- Unfortunately, the deterioration of the frescoes in this chapel means that they are partially legible. The artist made frequent recourse to the technique of painting on dry plaster (a secco) instead of fresh or wet plaster. In addiction, the fresco was whitewashed in the 18th century and rediscovered only in the 1840. The compositional rhythm of the scenes is extremely mature and measured , in wich the space is inhabited by classical figures with amply draped garments and monumental volume. The receding architectural backdrop is very striking oriented toward the ideal point of view of the spectator. The sequence of the scenes runs from the top of the bottom: on the right hand wall, the stories of st John the Evangelist, on the wall to the left, the stories of St John the Baptist.

The Bardi Chapel was built ten years after the nearby Peruzzi chapel, it is considered the artistic testament of the great painter. The dry paintings represent episodes from the life of Saint Francis and figures of Franciscan saints. on each wall are represented three compartments, divided into one lunette and two squares on the registers below. The reading of the opera is from one wall to another, from top to bottom. Outside, above the arch, there is also the pivotal episode of the Stigmata of San Francesco.

This work from the artist’s maturity (about 1330) was part of a polyptych probably made after the Bardi chapel frescoes. The Saint, depicted with stones on his head alluding to his lapidation, holds a preciously decorated book with his right hand; richly decorated is also the dress whose drapery is rendered with rare realism.

Inside the 13th century Bargello Palace Giotto worked in the very last period of his life, helped by his assistants. In the Room dedicated at Michelangelo is possible to admire the fresco depicting the enthroned Madonna flanked by the allegories of the Florentine Sestieri, which is in good condition. on the other side the wide frescoes decorating the Saint Magdalene's chapel (also known as Cappella del Podestà), mostly painted by Giotto's disciples are in worse condition. This chapel, where the prisoners condemned to death stood before the execution, is significantly decorated with scenes from the life of St. Magdalene and the Last judgment. in the ladder, Giotto himself painted some figures, among which the famous Dante's portrait

In 1334 Giotto stepped into the role of master builder at the works of the Santa Maria del Fiore where, according to Vasari, he dedicated most of his attention of the bell tower. He oversaw the polychrome decoration and the iconographic program of the reliefs. The formelle, or modelled panels, masterpieces of of medieval sculptures, were made mainly by Andrea Pisano, Alberto Arnoldi, Maso di Banco and represent scenes from the Old Testament, the works of man, the planets, the Virtues, the Sacraments. Some historians hypothesize that Giotto may have contributed personally to the execution of the preliminary drawings of some panels. Giotto, who remained master builder until his death in 1337, was succeeded by the sculptor and architect Andrea Pisano.