Giotto and Observation

Giotto

According to Wikipedia, "Giotto di Bondone (1266/7 – January 8, 1337), known as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence in the late Middle Ages. He is generally considered the first in a line of great artists who contributed to the Italian Renaissance."  Giotto was unique compared to the other artists of his time.  Many of the artists during his time were doing Byzantine art, which is flat and not naturalistic.  Giotto made his figures three dimensional by drawing from live models, which was uncommon during that period of time.  He observed nature and painted what he saw.  Clothing was not flat, but had form and weight.  But what truly set him apart was that his figures had emotion on their faces.  Instead of the flat, emotionless look of the Byzantine art, Giotto expressed the feelings that the character would have in a particular scene.  Enjoy!