What is depicted on the walls of the Scrovegni Chapel?
The frescoes tell the story of the lives of Mary (beginning with her parents, Joachim and Anna) and Christ on the long walls. By the altar, Giotto painted the Annunciation, and at the other end, on the entrance wall, the Last Judgment.
Why is Giotto famous?
For almost seven centuries Giotto has been revered as the father of European painting and the first of the great Italian masters. He is believed to have been a pupil of the Florentine painter Cimabue and to have decorated chapels in Assisi, Rome, Padua, Florence, and Naples with frescoes and panel paintings in tempera.
What was Enrico degli Scrovegni relationship to the Arena Chapel in Padua?
The Arena Chapel was commissioned to Giotto by the affluent Paduan banker, Enrico Scrovegni. In the early 1300s Enrico purchased from Manfredo Dalesmanini the area on which the Roman arena had stood. Here he had his luxurious palace built, as well as a chapel annexed to it.
How many frescoes are in the Arena Chapel?
The remaining walls are covered with three tiers of frescoes: the top tier is devoted to scenes from the Life of the Virgin Mary (to whom the chapel is dedicated); the middle and lower tiers depict scenes from the Life of Jesus; in all, a total of 39 scenes.
What kind of painting technique did Giotto use in the Arena Chapel?
Giotto painted his artwork on the walls and ceiling of the Chapel using the fresco method in which water based colors are painted onto wet plaster. Painting onto wet plaster allows the paint to be infused into the plaster creating a very durable artwork.
What is the symbolism of the barren tree in the lamentation panel at scrovegni Arena Chapel?
How has Giotto created a richly symbolic or allusive image in his Arena Chapel Lamentation? 1. The barren tree could be the tree of life, or it could be a reference to a tree in winter, meant to remind us of the resurrection of Christ , just as a tree becomes alive again in Spring.
Why is the Scrovegni chapel also called the Arena Chapel?
The chapel is known as the Arena Chapel since it is on the site of an ancient Roman arena (or amphitheater) that later became the property of Scrovegni, whose palace abutted the chapel (the palace was torn down in the nineteenth century, though parts of the arena remain).
How many scenes show Jesus Christ’s life does Giotto paint in the Arena Chapel?
The six scenes on the left wall – Christ among the Doctors, the Baptism of Christ, the Marriage at Cana, the Raising of Lazarus, the Entry into Jerusalem, and the Expulsion of the Money-changers from the Temple – have the most solemn narrative tone of all the frescoes.
Who was the man who commissioned Giotto to paint the arena?
Giotto is perhaps best known for the frescos he painted in the Arena (or Scrovegni) Chapel. They were commissioned by a wealthy man named Enrico Scrovegni, the son of a well-known banker (and a banker himself).
How did Giotto change the scene in Arena Chapel?
Giotto has transformed the weightless, puppet-like figures of the earlier work into truely monumental figures who appear to convincingly occupy space. Perhaps even more significantly Giotto has added an emotional depth to the scene. At the center is the face to face confrontation of Judas and Christ.
Who was the artist who painted the Arena Chapel?
Giotto is perhaps best known for the frescoes he painted in the Arena (or Scrovegni) Chapel. They were commissioned by a wealthy man named Enrico Scrovegni, the son of a well-known banker (and a banker himself).
When was the fresco cycle by Giotto arena created?
Fresco cycle by Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel, Padua, c. 1305 (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Late Medieval or Proto-Renaissance? The Renaissance does not have a start date.