THE ARTIST OF THE MILLENIUM:
Giotto di Bondone
Giotto
di Bondone is a name that most people may not recognize. He is
the father of countless generations of celebrated artists throughout
western culture including Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo,
Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Titian, Rembrandt, David, Manet, Monet,
Picasso, Pollock, and so on. Giotto is even greater than any
of these artists because of one fact-- without his contributions
they would be craftsman and not artists, they would be nameless,
faceless people producing generic uninspiring art. Perhaps that
is an exaggeration, but surely art would never be "art"
without the audacity of one man who saw a need for change and
decided he was the one to fill it. Giotto dared to develop a
style that was purely his own and in the process developed a
new language in art where the artist imparts his vision and his
talents to his own work. Art then becomes intentional and as
individual as the artist.
Giotto pioneered
new techniques, developed a philosophy and approach to his subject
matter that set new ideals and standards for the artist to accomplish
and surpass. Giotto opened the door to the voice of interpretation
and creativity allowing naturalism, gesture, weight, and range
of emotion to take precedence over the static and stoic figures
of Medieval art. One could say that Giotto was responsible for
the revival of intellectual and artistic history, moving humanity
from its darkest period directly into the light.
Giotto could simply have been a product of his time, that all
the elements social, political, and economical were in place,
enabling him to single-handedly revolutionize artistic production
and the role of the artist. He was singled out as the most influential
artist in history by Renaissance artists and philosophers. Even
today, historians and other academians agree that Giotto caused
artists to shed the artificial, stiff forms and replace them
with a style derived directly from nature. Artists were called
upon to utilize their own skills of observation and record them
in sketches on paper.
Giotto is incomparable
when you consider the developments and progression that art takes
on in the following centuries. Dante thought him a leader in
the arts, and Bocaccio thought him "one who brought light
back to art." Michelangelo as a young man trained from his
frescoes in the Arena Chapel. He is for art what Gutenberg is
for communications, what Einstein is to science and technology,
and what Muhammad Ali is for sports. Giotto is both critical
and pivotal to the development of art. There is no doubt in our
minds that the major art movements, including abstract expressionism
and even Pop art, the formation of artists, philosophies and
theories surrounding art of every kind are all due to the almighty
Giotto di Bondone.
So there you have it. Arty, and the staff at the Art Cellar Exchange
tip our hats to Giotto di Bondone, The Artist of the Millennium.
For more information, contact us at ace@artcellarexchange.com.