Great Artists of the Renaissance

The Renaissance by definition was a time of rebirth; many discoveries and many re-discoveries in the fields of art, architecture, and creativity were made during that time in history. Four artists, however, stand out as genius, the masterminds of their era: Giotto di Bondone, Tomasco Giovanni (Masaccio), Giovanni Boccaccio. and Francisco Petrarch.

Giotto di Bondone was one of the very first of Italy's many great artists during the renaissance, and it was his work that became a foundation for many discoveries to come. Although Giotto was the student of the famous Cimabue, he surpassed the work of the older artist with astonishing rapidity. Both artists created similar paintings of the Enthroned Madonna and Child for the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence, and it is in these paintings that we can see most clearly the difference in their work.

Giotto is most famous for his original use of Chiaroscuro, which literally means "light-dark", the use of shading to create an illusion of dimension. Giotto's painting exhibits a far superior sense of depth, created by the highlighting and shadows within the piece. He became one of the first artists in history to truly create an illusion of dimension in his frescoes, even painting a convincing shelf unto the wall of the Arena Chapel in Padua. Giotto also ventures into the realm of painting realistic bodies - the Madonna has a softer form, with even the outlines of breasts faintly visible beneath the fabric. The young Christ is also much more child-like than Cimabue's baby, despite the symbolic use of a more adult face on the infant's shoulders.