File:Giotto (1905) (14776125932).jpg

Identifier: giotto00dese (find matches)
Title: Giotto
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors: De Selincourt, Basil, 1876-
Subjects: Giotto, 1266?-1337
Publisher: London : Duckworth and Co. New York, C. Scribner's Sons
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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y, and indeed hardly possible, to define: whateverhe touches, he touches with a hand that is supreme. De-servedly among the most famous, and happily among thebest preserved of all relics of this golden period of Floren-tine art, are the sculptured reliefs about the base of theCampanile, representing the origin of humanity and itsarts, and the growth of civilisation. Tradition has alwaysascribed the general conception of the series and thedesigns for the various subjects to Giotto himself; thesculptor Ghiberti, born hardly fifty years after Giottosdeath, makes a decisive statement to a similar effect. He was most excellent in every branch of the art, andin the art of sculpture also. The first stories * in thebuilding, which was built by him, of the bell tower ofSanta Reparata were chiselled and designed by his hand.In my time I have seen models by his hand of the storiesmentioned most excellently designed.* And at this early * /.e,, in the language of modern art-criticism compositions.
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Photo, AUnari^ CREATION OF WOMAN (After Giotto) (^CampanileTo face p. 202 ^- AS SCULPTOR AND ARCHITECT 203 age, when the great arts went hand in hand, what morenatural than that the man who was pre-eminent ingraphic and in constructive arts, should also haveexplored the art in which they meet ? That he, themaster of design, should never in his work as architecthave been impelled to leave his breath upon the lifelessstone, would indeed be barely credible. Yet the criticof to-day denies it. It is scarcely conceivable, saysMr. Langton Douglas, that an old man, overburdenedwith several vast undertakings and holding importantpublic offices could have found time to apply himself toan art which hitherto he had not practised at all, or hadat most practised but little. These are idle words. Weknow as much of Giotto the sculptor as of Giotto thearchitect; of both, nothing but the crowning achieve-ment. As to the weight of his years and of his under-takings upon him, we are equally in the dark ;

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