GIOTTO di Bondone (b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze) Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: 1. Annunciation to Zacharias 1320 Fresco, 280 x 450 cm Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence It is difficult to say what degree of affinity there is between the new style of Giotto's workshop and the decoration. of the Peruzzi Chapel in Santa Croce, which was probably carried out not long after the works in the Lower Curch at Assisi. Unfortunately, the Peruzzi cycle was extensively repainted, and what remains of the original frescoes, revealed during a recent restoration is in a bad state o
GIOTTO di Bondone (b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze) Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: 1. Annunciation to Zacharias 1320 Fresco, 280 x 450 cm Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence It is difficult to say what degree of affinity there is between the new style of Giotto's workshop and the decoration. of the Peruzzi Chapel in Santa Croce, which was probably carried out not long after the works in the Lower Curch at Assisi. Unfortunately, the Peruzzi cycle was extensively repainted, and what remains of the original frescoes, revealed during a recent restoration is in a bad state of preservation. There is still much controversy over the dating of this chapel and that of the Bardi family adjoining it, the probable date is between 1315-1320. The fresco cycle in the chapel consists of scenes from the lives of St John the Baptist (left wall) and St John the Evangelist (right wall); the Annunciation to Zacharias, the Birth and Naming of the Baptist, the Feast of Herod (including the episode of Salome giving the head of John the Baptist to her mother), St John on Patmos, the Raising of Drusiana and the Ascension of the Evangelist. The small heads framed by hexagons are the most interesting of the minor paintings. They are so lifelike and individualized that they are thought to be portraits of members of the Peruzzi family. The frescoes were planned on an exceptionally large scale. In this respect the cycle would appear to be a continuation of experiments begun in the Magdalen Chapel (the Evangelist in the Raising of Drusiana is strongly reminiscent of Christ in the Resurrection of Lazarus at Assisi). The extensive wall surfaces of the chapel permitted a far greater pictorial complexity than did those of the Arena Chapel, and consequently the large, majestic figures that populate the frescoes and the architectural structures in which they move so convincingly is grander than anything at Assisi. As the chapel is very high, fairly long and narrow, Giotto employ
Size: 3352px × 1936px
Photo credit: © Carlo Bollo / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1300, 1300s, 14th, art, artwork, bondone, century, croce, di, florence, fresco, frescoes, giotto, historical, history, italian, life, paint, painter, painting, paintings, saints, santa
