Ognissanti Madonna Giotto Analysis

The period known as the middle ages, dark ages or the medieval period started around the fall of the Roman Empire, which happened around the fifth century and ended between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. During this time peasant farmers located in the rural countryside worked for the warrior nobility which were the landholders and owed their allegiance to the king. In approximately the tenth century the steady growth of cities, trade, merchants and people started moving from the country into the cities. This was a time we see the rise of barbarian tribes across Europe, the Black Death and the crusades. At this time the most influential entity was the church, religious institutions lead by the pope took responsibility for education and intellectual life. On the political side, responsibility for leadership of the nobles and protecting the church

were given to the heretical kings. It was more important to the artist during the Middle Ages to emphasize religious images and symbols rather than creating something realistic. Many of the paintings show the people important to the church, holy scenes and figures. The painters during this period did not attempt to make animals, humans or landscapes look realistic nor did they have any sense of depth or space in their work.
The period from approximately the 14th to the 17th centuries is known as the Renaissance, which many consider to be a connection between medieval and modern times. The movement started in Italy sometime during the late medieval period and spread to Europe later in the period. This is believed to be the beginning of the early modern age. During this time the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy a new version humanism was brought to light. This new outlook effected literature, science, art, architecture and politics of the time. A few examples of these changes include the rediscovery making concrete and learning how to insert perspective in an oil painting. Even with the invention of movable type made of metal which added to the speed in which information was disseminated these changes were not seen across Europe uniformly.
During this movement we see the gradual educational reforms, blossoming of Latin and vernacular literatures, learning based on the classic sources starting around the 14th century, more realistic paintings containing linear perspective and other techniques. The Renaissance also saw changes in politics with the development of customs and conventions of diplomacy. Science seen the increase of inductive reasoning and observation. Even though Renaissance was a time of major social and political changes it is probably known best for the many artistic developments and the works of individuals like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Medieval times seen European artists using symbolism instead of realism and painting mainly religious images. Most paintings of this timeframe portrayed people of religious important and holy figures. During this time little attention was paid to making animals and people look lifelike. The creation of natural looking landscapes, a sense of depth and space were missing from painting of this time. Europe in general seen a change from ancient realism to a medieval style. With the political landscape in shambles it was impossible for all of Europe to develop the same style, so each region developed its own style, these styles were known as barbarian styles. During the dark ages the barbarian styles flourished, they focus on decorative patterns and are flat and stylized.
Physical realism and refined classicism were developed by early Renaissance artists which helped build a foundation that lead to the pinnacle of classicism being achieved during the high Renaissance. Painters of this era embraced physical realism, balance, clarity and simplicity. Mannerism was a large piece of late Renaissance art, which purposely pursued novelty and complexity. Mannerism featured physical forms being distorted for example, human anatomy being distorted, and arrangement of figures in complex poses, unnatural lighting and coloring.
While only a percentage of Late Renaissance artists were part of this movement, mannerism and its features were still very influential.
I have chosen Cimabue's Madonna and Child as my example of Middle Ages painting. When looking at this work you see that the faces of the Madonna and angels are all similar and elongated. The painting is abstract and stylized, the angels are stacked on top of each other as they hover weightlessly. The realistic folds in the draperies are more realistic and the figures are more filled out than a typical Byzantine era model. If you look at the figures in the painting each has an expressive and inquisitive look on their faces. Even though Byzantine works of art were never meant to be realistic as they were created for spiritual reasons they are beautiful none the less.
My Renaissance painting is the Ognissanti Madonna by Giotto which can be seen in the church of Ognissanti located in Florence.

In this painting you can see the figures look solid and have weight to them. The angels in the painting are seen one in front another instead of being stacked on each other. Each of the angels are different and somewhat expressive and the throne has been painted to look realistic.

When looking at how Renaissance art changed future generations we must first look back at the time period that came before which was the Middle Ages. Paintings from the Middle Ages manly used dull colors and focused on religious themes. Because the church had a large amount of control and power during the Middle Ages most if not all paintings and art had some type of religious ties.

Paintings from the Renaissance were very different than the painting of the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance paintings were available to the public instead of just the church, they showed emotion and brought to light new ideas. The church slowly lost power as these new ideas were less about the church and more about the real

world.
The Renaissance showed the world art could be used to show a multitude of different things such as the emotions of people and the beauty of nature. This was revolutionary as is showed the world art could be used outside the church. The Renaissance technique showed that art could show three dimensional objects, define the features of people and other objects. The Renaissance also brought new shading techniques and color patterns which were used to set the mood of a painting or other works of art.