File:Giotto (1905) (14589944197).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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wing sheep has beenof little service to him ; a bare hill, rising to anunnatural peak, half a dozen toy trees, and a lowshepherds hut too small to be serviceable, are primarilysymbolic in their purpose, though admirably disposed,so as to emphasise and relieve the intensity of the centralsubject. The shepherds meet Joachim: they did notexpect, and do not understand, his arrival. Their naturalawkwardness is increased by their surprise, and hissorrow affects them only with a mixture of curiosity anduneasiness. Their dog offers timidly the welcome whichthey withhold. But Joachim, with arms folded andbowed head, is unconscious of the scene before him.He seems unaware that he has reached his journeysend; he still steps slowly forward, the impersonation ofmajestic grief. 3. The Annunciation to Anna. While Joachim was in the country, his wife Annawas visited by an angel, who hailed her mother of theVirgin of whom the Messiah was to be born. It should not be forgotten that none of the frescoes
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Photo, Alinari\ JOACHIM RETIRES TQ THE SHEEPFQLD iA?e?ia Chape)To face p. 104 THE ARENA CHAPEL AT PADUA 105 of the series may rightly be judged as a single composi-tion ; the fact that all belong to a large decorativesystem implies a complete suspension of the canonsapplicable to separate pictures; so long as nothingoccurs to violate the general harmony, the artist is freeto treat each subject according to its inherent demands ;his purpose, as an artist, is accomplished if he tellshis story effectively. S. Annas room is represented,after Giotto^s usual manner, as a little house orark, complete in itself, the sky all round it, andone wall cut away that the interior may be visible.The roof is ornamented with gables, and on oneside is a balcony reached by a flight of stairs, inthe shadow of which the servant is seated, spinning.The colouring of this fresco is well preserved, anddeserves special attention. The house is a delicategreen outside, roofed with pale red tiles. Inside, thewalls

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