Artist 36: Giotto

Giotto was born in around 1267 in Italy, near Flornce. This is an artist I beleive I will never forget. One of the legendary masters of the Italian Renaissance, he helped to open the door for future artists that would follow in his footsteps. He worked with fresco painting, as was done at the time, mostly, if not all, of religious scenes. One of the most important, I beleive, is the "Lamentation (Mourning of Christ)" because of a few key aspects of this painting.

Al of the lines point to the body of Christ, and every person is looking at him, all of the lines of sight point to his body. Not only do those lines point to the body of Christ, but even the landscape does, the rocky background slopes down at a direct angle towards Christ. Next, There is obvious emotion and lamentation. The man standing in the orange robe swings his arms out in anguish. Finally, the two figures in the front face away from you. This makes you feel like you are part of the painting, that you are standing behind those figures and are looking upon the body of Christ yourself. I believe this was incredibly important in taking a new step towards more realistic art, as well are more interactive art.