In the Lamentation Giotto has enriched the dialogue between life and death. Instead of burst of grief he has staged a tragedy. The figures grieve in the manner possible to their individual personalities. Giotto added to the scene mourners who turn their backs to the spectators; one upholds Christ's head, the other – his right hand. Mary with one arm around Christ's shoulder searches his countenance. Only the angels can cry in pure grief, each half-hidden in clouds to show that they are supernatural. In this scene Giotto's brushwork is as calm as in the other. He achieved this effect not only by the arrangement of figures but also by the diagonal line of the rock, descending toward the faces of Mary and Christ. At the upper right, as if to typify the desolation of the scene a bare tree stands against the blue. Giotto expected his observers to remember that in accordance with the medieval legend, the Tree of Knowledge was withered after the sin of Adam and Eve and made fruitful again after the sacrifice of Christ.
Make sure you know how to pronounce thefallowing words:
Giotto; Jesus Christ; Mary; Madonna; Virgin; Martha; fresco ['freskou]; Adam; Eve; Arena Chapel;
Byzantine; Padua; Florentine; Lazarus; Redemption; recognise; layer; contemporaries; shepherd;
masterpiece; perspective; accomplish; medieval; wilderness; sacrifice; expulsion; angels; surface.
Notes
Joachim among the Shepherds – «Встреча Иоакима с пастухами»
Raising of Lazarus – «Воскрешение Лазаря»
Lamentation – «Оплакивание»
Madonna and Child Enthroned – «Величание» («Маеста» из Оньиссанти)
Redemption – Искупление Грехов
The Vices and the Virtues – Грехи и Добродетели
protagonist – главный герой
Joachim – Иоаким
Tasks
I. Read the text. Mark the following statements true or false.
1. Giotto's greatness is recognized only today.
2. Giotto produced cubic forms on a flat surface.
3. Jesus and Mary are the protagonists of Giotto's frescoes.
4. In Giotto's frescoes the figures float through the heavens.
5. The composition is centred around Lazarus.
6. In the Lamentation to typify the desolation of the scene Giotto depicted a bare tree against the blue background.
II. How well have you read? Can you answer the following questions?
1. How was Giotto characterized by his contemporaries?
2. What did Giotto represent in the frescoes that line the interior of the Arena Chapel in Padua? What is the subject of these frecoes?
3. What did Giotto introduce in his works of art?
