The Mourning of Christ by Giotto
c. 1305 (300 Kb); Fresco, Cappella dell'Arena, Padua

The subject is the mourning over the dead body of Christ, with the Virgin embracing her Son for the last time. Painting, for Giotto, is more than a substitute for the written word. We seem to witness the real event as if it were enacted on a stage. Notice the passionate movement of St. John painting as he bends forward, his arms extended sideways. At the time Giotto was painting, early Christian art had reverted to the old Oriental idea that to tell a story clearly every figure had to be shown completely, almost as was done in Egyptian art. Giotto abandoned these ideas. He did not need such simple devices. He shows us so convincingly how each figure reflects the grief of the tragic scene that we sense the same grief in the cowering figures whose faces are hidden from us.

Back to anecdote.

http://pawprints.kashalinka.com