Polittico di Santa Reparata
Giotto·c. 1302
Historical Context
The Polittico di Santa Reparata from around 1302 by Giotto is an early polyptych altarpiece for the old cathedral of Florence. This panel painting demonstrates that Giotto was equally innovative in tempera on panel as in his famous fresco cycles Giotto di Bondone fundamentally transformed Western painting by introducing a new sense of three-dimensional figures, emotional expression, and narrative coherence that would underpin European art for centuries.
Technical Analysis
The multi-panel altarpiece displays Giotto's characteristic volumetric figure modeling within the traditional polyptych format, each panel containing solidly modeled figures against gold ground.
