From Byzantine to Gothic Italian Painting From Byzantine to Gothic Byzantine Art   Art produced in and under the influence of the Roman Empire and dated from the founding of Constantinople in AD 330 to its conquests by the turks in AD 1453. Byzantine artists produced wall paintings, illuminated manuscripts, panel paintings and mosaics (which the Byzantine artists brought to an unsurpassed level). Byzantine art was highly colourful, stylised, religious, iconic, and shows the beginnings of a move towards a more realistic treatment of tonal modelling

Frescoes in Nerezi near Skopje (1164), with their unique blend of high tragedy, gentle humanity, and homespun realism, anticipate the approach of Giotto and other proto-Renaissance Italian artists The subject matter of monumental Byzantine art was primarily religious and imperial Religious art was not, however, limited to the monumental decoration of church interiors. One of the most important genres of Byzantine art was the icon, an image of Christ, the Virgin, or a saint, used as an object of veneration in Orthodox churches and private homes alike. Icons were more religious than aesthetic in nature: especially after the end of iconoclasm, they were understood to manifest the unique “presence” of the figure depicted by means of a “likeness” to that figure maintained through carefully maintained canons of representation.[9]

Duccio 13/14th Century - Sienna Last Super Duccio symbolised the end and peak of the byzantine period, byzantine faces, no sense of pictorial space seen in the angles – table and above. More concerned with making it look pleasing to the eye and telling a story rather than naturalistic. Flat colour very little shade etc Duccio 13/14th Century - Sienna

Duccio 13/14th Century - Sienna Resurrection of Lazarus Egg tempera on wood – mixed pigment with tempera (egg yolk and water, something to bind the pigment) dries very quickly, drying oil was added in the early times – hence oil paint technique. Duccio 13/14th Century - Sienna

Ciambue – Florence 13th Century Gothic Madonna and Child, Christ on the cross Stylized, little perspective, lack of direction of light Ciambue – Florence 13th Century

Giotto di Bondone 13th/ 14th Century - Florence Lamentation, Annunciation to Anna, Madonna and Child Explain – annunciation (The Annunciation of Anna Joachim's wife, Anna is extremely worried when her husband does not return from the temple. While she weeps over her husband's absence, an angel appears and announces that she will bear a child who is to be named Mary. Giotto has created an authentic atmosphere in the room by using such elements as a trousseau chest, a cassone, and the utensils on the wall. The separation of husband and wife is essential to the narrative: only now while she is alone can the angel appear. Byzantine face, less flat than previous trying to be more naturalistic, gothic arch, some shadow but not directional light, more overlapping of angles. One of the first genre – people doing every day things, every day life. Fresco painting is the Italian word for fresh it is a painting on the wall. Fresco secco painted on dry plaster is one of the most well known forms of wall decoration, several assistants worked on the wall at the same time. Giotto di Bondone 13th/ 14th Century - Florence

Simone Martini – Early 15th Century International Gothic Annunciation, Tempera on wood with gold leaf, He was a pupil of Duccio. Sense of disbelief, symbolism, lilies – purity, branch – peace, saints in either side, Simone Martini – Early 15th Century

Equestrian painting, panoramic background,

Gentile Fabriano Birth of Christ

St Eustace meets the stag of Christ Pisanello