Cimabue Vs Giotto Analysis

Cimabue and Giotto were both considered to be two of the most important artists in the movement from Medieval to renaissance art. At first glance, Cimabue and Giotto’s styles look practically the same. But under further analysis, the difference between each artist’s individual styles shows more prominently. By using the Artist’s renditions of Madonna, we can really pinpoint the difference in their individual styles as well as the similarities. Let us start by observing and going over the similarities of Cimabue’s Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets (Fig. 1) and Giotto’s Madonna Enthroned (Fig. 2). Cimabue’s painting is 12’ 7” x 7’ 4”, and is an egg tempura on a wooden panel made in 1280-1290 CE. Giotto’s Painting is 10’ 8” x 6’ 8”, and is a tempura on a wooden panel made 30 years later than Cimabue’s, in 1310 CE. Egg tempuras are paintings that used pigments and the yolk (excluding the egg sack) of an egg to paint on a hard and stiff surface, like a wooden panel that is prepped with layers of gesso, or on wet/dry plaster, as seen by Michelangelo in his painting The Torment of Saint Anthony (Fig. 3). Egg tempura dries really quickly, and is very difficult to blend, …show more content…
In his painting, Madonna’s fingers and nose are very long, and her lips are small (Fig 12). This version of Madonna is just very long in general. If she were to stand up, she would be very tall and elongated, which gives her a very regal look, or she is rather a representation of an ideal heavenly form because she has a dainty look to her. (Callie’s Blog) In Giotto’s Painting of Madonna, she is depicted much bulkier, and she has a real monumental value to her because of his use of shapes and shading (Fig. 13). She is also just larger proportions-wise compared to Cimabue’s painting. This projects a more, realistic and human