Summary of Giotto’s Figures, by William Tronzo

The article of the San Diego University professor William Tronzo explores the universe of Giotto's creation, particularly the figures he painted. The main purpose of the work is to underline the elements the artist has in common with other Italian painters who lived and created in the same period, but also those that make his works unique.

Even from the beginning, Tronzo expresses his intention of approaching the matter from two different points of view, the historiographical and the historical one. The scenes he analyzes in sustaining his argumentation are taken from the famous fresco decorating the Arena Chapel in Padua, because it is the largest work entirely attributed to Giotto.

The first thing the American history of art professor does is to place the creation of the Italian painter in the context of the late trecento, early quattrocento dominant current in art, that promoted the idea of using the Greek and Roman antiquity as a main source of inspiration for sculptures and paintings.

Giotto is very familiar with this practice, some of the most famous scenes from the fresco being presented as examples, in parallel with the works that served as model. Indeed, a lot of similarities can be found between St. John lamenting over Christ's body and the way Meleager's death mourning was represented on the sarcophagi in Rome of the 2^nd and 3^rd century, AD. The resemblance between Virtue of Fortitude and a sculpture of Juno Sospita is also obvious.

However, according to Tronzo, Giotto did more than just faithfully reproducing some characters of the Antiquity. He made significant changes, especially in the figures' posture. These modifications make him one of the first Italian painters who had the courage to leave tradition behind and bring new elements into this art, opening the path for the masterpieces of the Renaissance.

Another central idea of the article is that, even during his life, Giotto was seen as an innovative spirit, who approached painting from a critical point of view, reinterpreting the classic models and creating something totally new. As arguments for his position, Tronzo uses several documents from that period, analyzing their content and underlining important aspects that support his opinion.