Ognissanti-Madonna

The so-called Ognissanti Madonna is a painting by the Italian painter Giotto di Bondone. The Enthroned Madonna with Child, Angels and Saints was built around 1310 for the church of Ognissanti in Florence. The painting is now in the Uffizi.

Image description

The Ognissanti Madonna is a large format board with a roof-like frame shape. The enthroned in the center, umstandene of saints and angels Madonna is represented in the semantic perspective, ie, it is to underline their divine rank equally represented greater than the figures surrounding it. A background in the modern sense is missing. The throne and the characters are surrounded in the upper third of a gold ground, which represented the divine light after the then understanding. This divine light continues as halo down to the lower area. The body of the Madonna is vividly rendered, highlighted the sitting posture by the color choice clearly. With close observation can be seen that even teeth are visible in the gently smiling Madonna. Although it corresponds with their head and body posture nor the Byzantine face and gestures formula. Giotto but his Madonna awarded individual traits. Steps lead from the bottom edge of the frame gradually to a canopy-like housing that Madonna is crowned by the arch of the canopy.

Classification

There are a number of comparable Madonna representations, including, for example, some 35 years earlier resulting Enthroned Madonna of Cimabue. The painting of Cimabue corresponds even more strongly the Byzantine face and gestures formula. The Tafelgemäle Giotto is now classified as a work that is the renaissance at the beginning of development.