Adoration of the Magi
The artwork form a certain era or period says a lot about the culture the art comes from. By studying the symbolism, colors, and materials used in the art, it is easy to understand the culture that thrived during that time. Decoding the artistic elements in the portraits can help one learn as to what was necessary to the civilization of that era and how they wanted to be remembered. “Adoration of The Magi” by Giotto di Bondone, when studied speaks a lot about the culture and the features of the artistic movement in social, historical and artistic context. The artistic style and technical features reveal the significance of analyzing an artwork. One looks at offers different perspectives and gets a comprehensive outlook at the situations, the events and people.
Italy had preserved a strong link with Byzantium during the late eleventh century. One finds several miniature illustrations in the Bibles produced in Rome, and those were strongly influenced by early cycles of Christian painting from Roman churches. Giotto di Bondone was one of the great masters who changed the course of a painting by the end of the thirteenth century. He painted volumetric figures and with varied emotions that looked more natural and humanly convincing. There was an almost measurable depth in the pictorial space he created on the canvas. With him, the flat world of Italian painting during the thirteenth-century 1 got transformed and moved to a real world. This is the reason why Giotto is known as the father of modern European painting . The elements of the Gothic style started emerging at the beginning of the fourteenth century, in France began to appear in Italian art 2 .
____________________1 "Giotto di Bondone Style and Technique." 2016. artble (May 5, 2016). http://www.artble.com/artists/giotto_di_bondone/more_information/style_and_technique2 " Italian Painting of the Later Middle Ages." 2016. metmuseum (May 5, 2016). http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/iptg/hd_iptg.htm
“Adoration of The Magi” ca. 1320 GiottoTempera on wood, gold ground “Adoration of the Magi” shows a realistic depiction of a comet in the Nativity scene. In the foreground one can see the Adoration of the Magi and in the background, the Annunciation to the Shepherds. “Adoration of The Magi” by Giotto di Bondone dates back to1320 and is one of the series of seven displaying the life of Christ. There is little known about the artwork, except that it was made of a Franciscan church 3. When Giotto painted it, he was at the pinnacle of his popularity and enjoyed a supreme reputation throughout Italy. He was the father of Renaissance painting. “Adoration of the Magi” was done in tempera on wood and gold ground. The small contained space in the artwork offers a great deal of information. The pictorial statement provides a clear accounting of the information. The style is similar to many frescos that were done by Grotto. This scene of the “Adoration of the Magi” is relatively small and features Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. The two magi hold their gifts and wait to pay homage. Animals are essential characters in the painting. There is a careful representation of different animals as well as different kind of people in the artwork. The exotically clad figures fill the space in a unified way. The rich surface pattern of the canvas is presented with areas of vivid color. The figures are delicately conceived with a warm hue, and there is an atmosphere of reverence. Giotto's pioneering naturalism can be seen in the way he organizes space clearly and arranges the elements in a stepped stage. The stable is at a higher level as if viewed from below. Giotto's naturalism gets revealed in the simplified shapes of the figures. There are different steps
____________________3 "The Adoration of the Magi." 20164. metmuseum (May 5, 2016). http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436504
or levels in the artwork that carries rich and warm colors. On the first plane at the very top of the picture, there are four angels engrossed in their activities. At the next level, one sees two shepherds with their focus on the angels and what they are doing. The artist makes an excellent use of space allotted and gives his viewer a sense of participation. It is the way he has arranged his subjects in different planes. The second plane shows Mary reclining in a stable. She looks at Joseph, who is shown at the lowest level. Joseph is standing leaning forward and stretching out his arm towards the Christ child. Both Joseph and Mary and the Christ Child are shown with a halo behind their head to represent them as superior and heavenly. In the middle plane is the King, who demands the maximum attention of the viewers. He is lifting the Christ child in haste. The figure of the king, who has removed his crown and kneeling down to lift the Child from the manger seems to be a very natural action. On the right side are two figures, the magis waiting.
Giotto’s genius and brilliance cannot be denied, looking at the startling freshness of his observation and the humanity of his figures. The artist was well familiar with the world around him and supremely talented in incorporating his observations from nature in his artwork. The portrayal of Halley’s Comet in the “Adoration of the Magi” is a good example of his observation of the astronomy 4. The inclusion of Halley’s Comet as the “Star of Bethlehem” in “Adoration of The Magi” got a craft engineered by European Space agency to be named after the artist as “Giotto.” 5 Giotto’s comet was a signal of good news and the birth of a new king.
____________________4 Anne derbies and Mark Sandona, Giooto (The Cambridge Press, 2004), 3035 David J. Eicher, Comets (Cambridge University Press, 2013), 199.
He makes use of horizon and diagonal lines that can be seen in the beams of the hut where Mary relines and the wooden casket that holds the Christ baby. The upward gaze of the two shepherds leads the eyes of the viewer to the sky.
Giotto can be seen here breaking away from the decorative Byzantine style and in place of the flat, stylized saints, he gives his figures a three-dimensional presence, thus adding new realism to his work. The play of lights and shadows in the figures, their robes and depth in the facial features in “Adoration of The Magi” add a sense of volume and realism in his depiction 6 . The artist is clear in the way the light hits his figures from above and creates shadows. The shadows and light are used by the artist to lure the attention of the viewer to where he wants. The artists manipulate the effects of light and shadow to add realism as well as give life to his subjects. He emphasizes on the bulk of the bodies, the lines and flow of the garments. Giotto’s best gift to the Renaissance was his grasp of human emotion by transferring accurate detail onto his work. As one observes in “Adoration of The Magi”, the human figures are drawn realistically and in proportion. The facial features are drawn clearly, and so are their robes that are filled with earthy colors under smooth brush strokes 7.The robes drape around taking the antral fall and thus look realistic.
Giotto makes use of warm earthy colors that lend a warm glow to the canvas. He makes use of heavenly gold hues for the sky in place of blue skies. The figures get a natural look to their faces, hair, features. He makes use of natural skin color. He uses warm oranges, reds, yellows and greens for the robes of the figures. He uses a darker colored robe for Mary and dull brown
____________________6"Giotto and the Arena Chapel." 2016. artchronicler (May 5, 2016). https://artchronicler.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/giotto-and-the-arena-chapel/7 "Giotto di Bondone." 2016. artble (May 5, 2016). http://www.artble.com/artists/giotto_di_bondone
for the shepherds. The pigments of red, gold and yellow add pulsing energy in the comet. The artist is successful in making the right contrasts with dark shadows and bright highlights so as to draw attention to the most important aspects of his character. There is a dramatic contrast dull background, the dark robes of the reclining Mary and the golden and red robes of the three Magi and Joseph. The artist uses thick but smooth brushstrokes again in the interest of naturalism. His figures carry weight and volume that is against weightless flowing figures of the medieval works. His figures carry weight with flesh, expressions, and clothing. Giotto was the Proto-Renaissance painter who began a new age in fine art painting with the introduction of realism in the 14th century. Another artist, Masaccio reorganized the pictorial space with perspective almost a century later 8. Giotto is known to set the right emotions and in “Adoration of The Magi”, one can feel the emotions of reverence, joy, and hope. He has the knack of making the viewer feel much more than just a spectator, and he feels part of the scene, fully involved. It is like as if he is standing at a distance and watching the whole scene going on. The artists have carefully arranged the figures. The analysis of a painting can show its context and can disclose the cultural elements from which the painting comes. The setting of “Adoration of The Magi” Giotto is in 1320, and this was a time when Giotto was taking the artistic steps toward the Renaissance and is well famous for his earthly, natural style that moved away from unrealistic human figures 9. He placed higher importance on the realness and quality in his art. He must have observed humans, their gestures expressions so as to capture them in the movement in art.
____________________8 "The Early Italian Renaissance in Florence." 2016. Encyclopedia of Art History (May 5, 2016). http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/renaissance-in-florence.htm9 "Giotto di Bondone Style and Technique." 2016. artble (May 5, 2016). http://www.artble.com/artists/giotto_di_bondone/more_information/style_and_technique
Giotto’s reputation as the founder of European painting 10 is evident from the columnar solidity of the figures and the carefully expressed space. Mary’s expression and the impulsive action of the kneeling who is picking up the Christ child displays deeply human emotions. The artist gives a gentleness to the artwork in a natural way.The importance of Giotto work can be understood better through the knowledge of the social context of his time. He took a cue from other Italian painters that include names like Pietro Cavallini, Nicolò Pisano, and Duccio. In di Bondone, 11 one finds the highest expression in naturalism and human form. Giotto lived and worked in Italy which is the cradle of Catholic civilization, and it is no surprise to see saints, popes and angels and other religious figures in his work. Those artworks suggest that he was perhaps deeply religious, and his works were in high demand by cathedrals and churches.
____________________10 "The Adoration of the Magi." 20164. metmuseum (May 5, 2016). http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/43650411 “"Giotto di Bondone Style and Technique." 2016. artble (May 5, 2016). http://www.artble.com/artists/giotto_di_bondone/more_information/style_and_technique
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Derbies, Anne and Giooto, Mark Sandona (The Cambridge Press, 2004), 303
David J. Eicher, Comets (Cambridge University Press, 2013), 199.
"Giotto and the Arena Chapel." 2016. artchronicler (May 5, 2016). https://artchronicler.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/giotto-and-the-arena-chapel/
"Giotto di Bondone." 2016. artble (May 5, 2016). http://www.artble.com/artists/giotto_di_bondone
"Giotto di Bondone Style and Technique." 2016. artble (May 5, 2016). http://www.artble.com/artists/giotto_di_bondone/more_information/style_and_technique
"Italian Painting of the Later Middle Ages." 2016. metmuseum (May 5, 2016). http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/iptg/hd_iptg.htm ttp
"The Adoration of the Magi." 20164. metmuseum (May 5, 2016). http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436504
"The Adoration of the Magi." 2016. britannica (May 5, 2016). http://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/giotto/z_panel/3polypty/1epiphany.html
"The Early Italian Renaissance in Florence." 2016. Encyclopedia of Art History (May 5, 2016). http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/renaissance-in-florence.htm
