| Giotto's insurmountable fame: "Had the Assisi frescoes been painted by anyone other than Giotto-for example a Sienese as has recently been imagined-then that other painter would have the honor of having founded modern art."
Finally, one more significant reference is made by a contemporary of Giotto's and that is Dante. It is in the Purgatory and Dante says "Cimabue thought to hold the field in painting, and now Giotto has the cry, so that the fame of the former is obscured." Dante doesn't specifically state that Giotto painted the discussed cycle, but he does suggest that Giotto is responsible for something monumental and reputable at Assisi (which the Legend would be a good guess). These certain references if anything display the incredible impact that the art of Assisi had of following generations.
THE FRESCOES
To discuss all twenty-eight frescoes in the Cycle would be the undertaking of a book, so for the sake of brevity and poignancy, two have been chosen to illustrate the greatness of the work as a whole and who possibly is responsible for them. They are Scenes II and XV. Scene II is the Gift of the Mantle |