14th century art

Giotto, The Lamentation, c. 1305, Padua, Arena Chapel,

Fresco

The Lamentation of the Death of Christ is the most famous

of the Scrovegni Chapel frescoes painted by Giotto in the

first decade of the 14th century. The frescoes were

commissioned by the wealthy Scrovegni family for their

private chapel in Padua. (It is also known as the Arena

Chapel because it was built on the site of an ancient Roman

arena.) Recognized immediately as a masterpiece of Pre-

Renaissance painting, Giotto's fresco cycle introduced a

revolutionary style of naturalism with more realistic figures

and more realistic emotions

Noted to be the one who brought Renaissance Art to France, Jean Fouquet is the “finest French
painter of the 15th century.” His works were thought to have been the link between the French
International Gothic scene and the Italian Early Renaissance.
A YOUNG GENIUS
What is known about him are the following: He was born in 1420 in the city of Tours, near the
Loire River, in France, to a priest. When he grew up a bit he left home to receive training in
Paris. Sometime between 1444 and 1446, he made a portrait of Pope Eugenius IV in Rome. In
1447 (some say 1461) he painted a portrait of Charles VII. It was said that he also went to Italy
and was influenced by the works of Piero Della Francesca and Fra Angelico, especially in the
techniques concerned in the rendering of volume and managing of central perspective and
foreshortening.
He created a new art style after his return from Italy, which became the basis of 15th-century
French art. In 1450 he painted the Book of Hours for Etienne Chevalier, which includes 60
miniatures, and a diptych for Notre Dame. he also illustrated Boccaccio’s “On the Fates of
Famous Men” and “On Famous Women”, the Grandes Chroniques de France, and finally, the
“Cas des nobles hommes et femmes malheureux.” The “Pieta” altarpiece that was discovered in
the church at Nouans is attributed to him. There is also the Assumption altarpiece located in the
church of Candes.
He was also commissioned to do paintings for the Order of St Michael in 1470 and illustrations
for prayer books for Marie de Cleves and Philippe de Commines in 1472 and 1474 respectively.
It was also in 1474 that he illustrated the “Antiquities of the Jews.” He also made a model of a
tomb for Louis XI in 1474 and received the title of the King’s Painter in 1475. In 1476 he helped
to decorate for the entry of the Alfonso V into Tours. His works with Charles VII, Etienne
Chevalier, Guillaume Jouvenel des Ursins, and Louis XI all gave art historians the impression
that he’s in the sole employment of the French Court.