The volume narrates the life and works of Giotto, a decisive figure for occidental art, who directed Italian painting toward the great revolution of three-dimensional space and perspective.
“Cimabue once thought that he held the field in painting, and now Giotto has the praise, so much so that the other’s fame is obscured.” Thus Dante underlined the epochal passage in art brought about by Giotto (1267?- 1337). Before him painted figures appeared contracted against the background of frescoes and panels, frozen in a limited range of gestures and expressions. Giotto made it possible to break free of the rigid rules of Byzantine art, to move, think and act to the fullest of one’s abilities. This genuine revolution in art is forcefully expressed in the cycles, the polyptychs and panels: Giotto reattained a sense of volume and space, expressing human sentiments as they had not been expressed for a thousand years.
The book offers an unusual concentration of information on the artist, with over 300 full-color illustrations.