The 1285 Cimabue’s Enthroned Madonna and Child and the 1305 Giotto’s Ognissanti Madonna have several subtle dissimilarities portraying the change in a rhetorical and stylistic sense at the beginning of the early Renaissance. These two pieces of art are also similar in many ways, and the artists depict great symbolism behind the paintings. Cimabue’s artwork portrays a tortuous portrait of individuals of a divine nature, with long noses, fingers, and figures (Streeton, 2020). On the other hand, Giotto’s artwork represents a subtle move towards shade and light. Additionally, Madonna appears more substantial in Giotto’s painting, a noticeable difference from Cimabue’s painting of Madonna and Christ. Giotto draws Madonna not as an ethereal being but as a real woman. His painting appears natural and relates Madonna to real women.
Beginning with Enthroned Madonna and Child by Cimabue, he uses tempera, which heightens the linear aspect of his artwork. Enthroned Madonna and Child was designed wide and tall for an alter in Florence. By dimension, the painting is 385cm tall and 223cm wide (approximately 12.5 feet tall and 7 feet wide) (Streeton, 2020). The picture appears as the typical paintings of Madonna and Child at first glance, but intricacies are noticeable in the image upon closer examination. In this painting, Cimabue uses linear work to describe things uniquely. He encases the prophets in the base of the throne, holding Christ and Madonna at the bottom of the painting, and the upper part of the painting has angels lined at both sides (Streeton, 2020). The angels are arranged on top of one another, and they look identical. Their wings make them appear to be in flight mode. Madonna is painted, sitting on the throne at the center of the painting, carrying baby Jesus in her arm. She appears to be elongated and tall and has a disproportionate upper body.
The painting makes Madonna appear ethereal and reminds how tortuous people view divine people. Other figures in the portrait also appear long and thin, including Christ. On the other hand, Giotto’s Ognissanti Madonna is appealing and seems genuine. The first glance, the painting resembles how we view women today. Giotto’s artwork was also designed for an alter and is huge since its height exceeds 10 feet. Giotto’s Ognissanti Madonna appears to be is true to life due to its depth (Streeton, 2020). The lower part of the painting where Madonna sits has stepped up to the throne, and Christ sits in her left arm. Giotto’s painting portrays Madonna and Christ as more human-like, contrary to Cimabue’s painting that makes them appear ethereal. Giotto’s painting appeals to the eye and draws more attention than Cimabue’s painting.
Interestingly, the painting draws human eyes to the lower section, indicating that Christ is Supreme and above everything. Giotto enhanced the depth of the image with colors, shadows, darkness, and light (Streeton, 2020). Additionally, he captivates the audience with shading full of warmth. In the painting, the wise men sit at a distant back but within sight of Christ. It is pretty interesting how Giotto places the angels below Christ with others covering their faces. The angels whose faces are covered overlap each other on the ground. Giotto intentionally puts Christ and Madonna above others in the painting to indicate the supremacy and Mightiness of Christ.
Although the paintings appear similar, Cimabue and Giotto approach Madonna and Christ Child differently. Byzantine prospects are portrayed in Cimabue’s painting by painting with lines and without depth. In Cimabue’s Enthroned Madonna and Child, everything is disproportioned and long (Streeton, 2020). The tortuous drawing technique Cimabue used creates lean and long characters that make Christ and Madonna appear ethereal. However, this drawing technique seems unintentional since they drew people in all their paintings. Although the picture has experienced a lot of criticism, many people consider it heavenly.
Artwork, especially painting, took a different direction at the start of the Renaissance. Giotto’s painting of Christ and Madonna reflected real-life situations, making the characters appear natural. However, instead of placing it amongst the people, he put it on a pedestal. Moreover, he created some depth using shade and light, contrary to Cimabue’s technique of creating depth through lines on the material (Streeton, 2020). Comparatively, both Cimabue’s and Giotto’s painting on Madonna and Christ draws us close to the characters even though the impression from both images differs.
At the beginning of the Renaissance, many artists used shade and light to draw the audience’s attention and portray depth. The artists drew the audience’s attention to focus their eyes on a focal point (Streeton, 2020). However, there are no focal points in Cimabue’s painting. Giotto portrays depth so well in his painting, something Cimabue lacked. Cimabue’s image does not draw the audience’s eyes to any part of the painting, and the picture is seen from any standpoint (Streeton, 2020). On the other hand, Giotto’s artwork is characterized by focal points that draw the audience’s attention since he discovered and embraced shade and light in his painting. Giotto’s painting has similar focal points from any angle of view.
The artwork draws the audience closer to Madonna and Christ and brings a feeling of interaction between the audience and the characters. Although Cimabue and Giotto created similar paintings, their paintings differ in many ways. The images are two years apart, but the changes are enormous. The audience can see changes in the presentation of women and the shift in how divine people were created. Additionally, the two pieces of artwork differ in focus and depth. Giotto was not mindful of the visibility of people’s faces in his painting, and this might have been a faux pas. However, the idea of covering the faces of some angels overlapping them makes his artwork outstanding. Giotto’s painting is interesting because the wise men stand amidst the angels, even though they appear far more at the back.
Cimabue’s painting places the wise men in a cell below Christ and Madonna, and they seem to be captive. The difference between the two paintings based on how things were presented changed rigorously from the classical byzantine to the modern Renaissance (Streeton, 2020). Although the approach to each painting varies considerably, both portray a picture of mother and child, Madonna and Christ child amidst angels and wise men. Both artists painted Madonna and Christ as alter pieces and tempera on panels. Both paintings had a gold background and a Byzantine effect and influence, for the vintage paintings weave is always used to help honor the past. Mostly used materials are always woven because they are made up of synthetic and majorly natural fabric. The coatings are always applied to it to help modify it, and this enhances its sensitivity making it moisturizing.
Reference
Streeton, N. (2020). History and use of panels or other rigid supports for easel paintings. Conservation of Easel Paintings, 49-116. Web.