Cimabue
(1240 - 1302) |
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Secular Narratives Art Work
| Name: |
Cimabue |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Place of Birth: |
Florence, Italy |
| Nationality: |
Italian |
| Birth: |
1240 |
| Death: |
1302 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Secular Narratives |
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| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painter
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Biography
| Very little is known about Cimabue. The most extensive account of his life was provided by Giorgio Vasari, writing some two hundred years after the artists death. Cimabue's works are undated, some have been damaged, and their attribution has often been challenged, yet his impact on the development of Italian art cannot be overstated. Cimabue is seen as one of the most important, and most overlooked, of the early masters. He is commonly seen as the artistic driving force behind the shift from the strongly two dimensional, early Byzantine tradition toward greater naturalism via his interest in perspective and the use of classical elements, drama, and emotion in his work. The earliest work attributed to Cimabue is a Crucifix 1268- 1271 in the Basilica of San Domenico, Arezzo. His approach to anatomy and muscle definition is still in its early stages, but the artist's interest in the Romanesque is evident in his attempt to present monumental, smooth forms in a realistic manner. A badly damaged Crucifix 1287-1288 in the Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence, reflects a strongly naturalistic approach to figure painting, with subtle depiction of musculature, veins, bones, and sinews. Cimabue also addressed the subject of the crucifixion in a series of frescoes 1277-1280 in the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi. These depict scenes from the Life of the Virgin in the choir. The Evangelists crossing the vault, and the Lives of the Apostles; the use of illusionary perspective creates three dimensional architectural effects, whereas the finely painted, classically conceived drapery evokes ancient Roman precedents. Cimabue invests his scenes of the crowds surrounding Christ on the cross, and the apocalyptic collapse of the city of Babylon, with a sense of high drama. In 1302 Cimabue began work on a large mosaic of St. John in Pisa Cathedral and was commissioned to complete an altarpiece, but died later that year. His reputation was soon eclipsed by that of Giotto. |
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