Barbara Saromines-Ganne

The Birth of Mary

In this interior scene we see the Birth of the Virgin. In fact Giotto depicts two Mary's. This is a kind of time sequence to show us that after the baby was born it was cleansed and put in swaddling clothes by the midwives. This device in art is called continuous narration.

The architecture here is definitely not in proportion to the figures. It is, in fact, a symbolic house.

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The Presentation of Mary in the Temple

Another event in the Life of Mary. Here she is being presented to the Rabbi at the temple. The small Mary is half-way up the stairs in the center of the composition. Behind her is Anna with the halo and we can also see Joachim with his halo on the left. Our eye goes up to where the Rabbi is and then is led down by the diagonal line of the architecture to the two figures on the right, coming around again to Mary.

The architecture is the same as that in the first scene of the Expulsion of Joachim from the temple only viewed from the opposite side.

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The Consignment of the Rods

In this scene rods are being presented to the Rabbi. He will then watch them and interpret them and will choose a husband for Mary. On the extreme left we can see Joseph, the future husband, with the halo. Notice how Giotto attempts to create a kind of depth in the apse above the Rabbi.

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The Prayer for the Flowering of the Rods

In this scene the Rabbi and the men are watching the rods.

Here again Giotto repeats the temple for the second time.

The kneeling figures are seen from the side or from behind, and display the massiveness so typical of Giotto's style. The drapery and anatomy are simplified so that the bodies appear to be perfectly solid.

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The Marriage of the Virgin

Now the Rabbi presides over the marriage of Mary and Joseph.

The temple appears for the third time. The figures extend all across in varied procession. They seem all the more solid because of the vertical development of the architecture . But the gentle event of the marriage is both solemn and yet joyful.

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The Wedding Procession

After the Wedding the Virgin is seen here returning to her home. Although the procession moves from left to right there are two figures who enter with musical instruments on the right to stop the action. The foliage coming out of the architectural tower on the right seems to reach out toward the Virgin who is slightly off center but still the focal point of the composition. She is framed by the blue symbolic landscape behind her.
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Triumphal Entry Arch

Above the altar and below the fresco of God the Father sending the angel Gabriel on the mission we see on one side of the arch the angel Gabriel appearing before Mary who is shown on the right.
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Annunciation

Above the altar and below the fresco of God the Father sending the angel Gabriel on the mission we see on one side of the arch the angel Gabriel appearing before Mary.

(The two figures have been placed next to each other here for the sake of studying them.)

On the right side is Mary receiving the Word. "And the word of God was made flesh."

Both Gabriel and Mary kneel within a shrine which has been set to an angle to suggest that it faces the other; for this reason we see only the exteriors and a small part of the interiors of the structures. Mary has been given an extraordinary solidity. The foreshortening of her arms has been carried out with great precision and she appears to be strong and yet humble at the the same time.

Notice that because the figures are in profile Giotto has made the haloes oval so that they appear foreshortened.

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The Visitation

Below the Annunciation scene on the right we can see here a subsidiary scene. It shows Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth who is pregnant with John the Baptist. What is interesting in this scene is the one below where we see Giotto trying to work out some kind of spacial depth in an interior space.

The line of Elizabeth who bends forward looking into the eyes of Mary is unforgettable.

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The Nativity

Giotto has chosen a shed in which to place the Nativity. Until this Nativity was painted, it was a medieval tradition to place the scene in a cave.

The composition is interesting and we can see two of the six windows in the chapel on either side. The focal point is on the head of the Christ Child and Mary. On the right is a figure with his back to us, another attempt of Giotto to depict a spacial depth. This figure is expressive and seems to emphasize the foreground. The ox and the ass are on the left side. Below is Joseph in the shape of an equilateral triangle, and looking facially very much the same as Joachim. The angels in the sky are in some of the positions that we have seen in other compositions such as the Annunciation to Joachim and to Anne.

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Detail of the Nativity

A closer look at the Christ child reveals that he doesn't look much like a child. It was common at this time in art to represent the child looking old ,as if to say that he knew that he had the burden of the world upon him.

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The Adoration of the Magi

A scene from the Life of Christ shows the Magi, or Wise Men, or Three Kings coming to adore the child. This scene is particularly interesting because in the sky can be seen Halley's comet which passed by in the year 1305. The animals too are interesting to note. Giotto depicts the camel as a kind of toy hobby horse. This was an animal, of course, that he had never had the occasion to see.

Notice the sharp line that descends from the head of the Virgin to the kneeling Magi and another sharp diagonal that goes from the head of the camel to the kneeling Magi. This connects him with the two groups and provides the element of movement.

Next Page Index

The Birth of Mary

In this interior scene we see the Birth of the Virgin. In fact Giotto depicts two Mary's. This is a kind of time sequence to show us that after the baby was born it was cleansed and put in swaddling clothes by the midwives. This device in art is called continuous narration. The architecture here is definitely not in proportion to the figures. It is, in fact, a symbolic house.
Next Page	Index

The Presentation of Mary in the Temple

Another event in the Life of Mary. Here she is being presented to the Rabbi at the temple. The small Mary is half-way up the stairs in the center of the composition. Behind her is Anna with the halo and we can also see Joachim with his halo on the left. Our eye goes up to where the Rabbi is and then is led down by the diagonal line of the architecture to the two figures on the right, coming around again to Mary. The architecture is the same as that in the first scene of the Expulsion of Joachim from the temple only viewed from the opposite side.
Next Page	Index

The Consignment of the Rods

In this scene rods are being presented to the Rabbi. He will then watch them and interpret them and will choose a husband for Mary. On the extreme left we can see Joseph, the future husband, with the halo. Notice how Giotto attempts to create a kind of depth in the apse above the Rabbi.
Next Page	Index

The Prayer for the Flowering of the Rods

In this scene the Rabbi and the men are watching the rods. Here again Giotto repeats the temple for the second time. The kneeling figures are seen from the side or from behind, and display the massiveness so typical of Giotto's style. The drapery and anatomy are simplified so that the bodies appear to be perfectly solid.
Next Page	Index

The Marriage of the Virgin

Now the Rabbi presides over the marriage of Mary and Joseph. The temple appears for the third time. The figures extend all across in varied procession. They seem all the more solid because of the vertical development of the architecture . But the gentle event of the marriage is both solemn and yet joyful.
Next Page	Index

Annunciation

Above the altar and below the fresco of God the Father sending the angel Gabriel on the mission we see on one side of the arch the angel Gabriel appearing before Mary. (The two figures have been placed next to each other here for the sake of studying them.) On the right side is Mary receiving the Word. "And the word of God was made flesh." Both Gabriel and Mary kneel within a shrine which has been set to an angle to suggest that it faces the other; for this reason we see only the exteriors and a small part of the interiors of the structures. Mary has been given an extraordinary solidity. The foreshortening of her arms has been carried out with great precision and she appears to be strong and yet humble at the the same time. Notice that because the figures are in profile Giotto has made the haloes oval so that they appear foreshortened.
Next Page	Index

The Nativity

Giotto has chosen a shed in which to place the Nativity. Until this Nativity was painted, it was a medieval tradition to place the scene in a cave. The composition is interesting and we can see two of the six windows in the chapel on either side. The focal point is on the head of the Christ Child and Mary. On the right is a figure with his back to us, another attempt of Giotto to depict a spacial depth. This figure is expressive and seems to emphasize the foreground. The ox and the ass are on the left side. Below is Joseph in the shape of an equilateral triangle, and looking facially very much the same as Joachim. The angels in the sky are in some of the positions that we have seen in other compositions such as the Annunciation to Joachim and to Anne.
Next Page	Index

The Adoration of the Magi

A scene from the Life of Christ shows the Magi, or Wise Men, or Three Kings coming to adore the child. This scene is particularly interesting because in the sky can be seen Halley's comet which passed by in the year 1305. The animals too are interesting to note. Giotto depicts the camel as a kind of toy hobby horse. This was an animal, of course, that he had never had the occasion to see. Notice the sharp line that descends from the head of the Virgin to the kneeling Magi and another sharp diagonal that goes from the head of the camel to the kneeling Magi. This connects him with the two groups and provides the element of movement.
Next Page	Index