Giovanni Cimabue ( , ; – 1302), Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and P Bondanella. Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(Oxford World's Classics), 1991, pp. 7–14. . also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian painter and designer of

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s from

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. Although heavily influenced by Byzantine models, Cimabue is generally regarded as one of the first great Italian painters to break from the Italo-Byzantine style. Compared with the norms of

medieval art The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, with over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at certain periods in Western Asia and Northern Africa. It includes major art movements and periods, national and regional ar ...

, his works have more lifelike figural proportions and a more sophisticated use of shading to suggest volume. According to Italian painter and historian

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

, Cimabue was the teacher of

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...

, the first great artist of the Italian Proto-Renaissance. However, many scholars today tend to discount Vasari's claim by citing earlier sources that suggest otherwise.

Life

Little is known about Cimabue's early life. One source that recounts his career is Vasari's ''

Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' () is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-century Italian painter and architect Giorgio Vasari, which is considered "perhaps the most famous, and even today the ...

'', but its accuracy is uncertain. San Francesco Cimabue

He was born in Florence and died in

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

. Hayden Maginnis speculates that he could have trained in Florence under masters who were culturally connected to

Byzantine art Byzantine art comprises the body of artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome, decline of western Rome and ...

. The art historian Pietro Toesca attributed the ''

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

'' in the church of San Domenico in

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

to Cimabue, dating around 1270, making it the earliest known attributed work that departs from the Byzantine style. Cimabue's Christ is bent, and the clothes have the golden striations that were introduced by Coppo di Marcovaldo. Around 1272, Cimabue is documented as being present in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and a little later he made another '' Crucifix'' for the Florentine church of Santa Croce. Now restored, having been damaged by the 1966 Arno River flood, the work was larger and more advanced than the one in

, with traces of naturalism perhaps inspired by the works of Nicola Pisano. According to Vasari, Cimabue, while travelling from Florence to Vespignano, came upon the 10-year-old Giotto (c. 1277) drawing his sheep with a rough rock upon a smooth stone. He asked if Giotto would like to come and stay with him, which the child accepted with his father's permission. Vasari elaborates that during Giotto's apprenticeship, he allegedly painted a fly on the nose of a portrait Cimabue was working on; the teacher attempted to sweep the fly away several times before he understood his pupil's prank. Many scholars now discount Vasari's claim that he took Giotto as his pupil, citing earlier sources that suggest otherwise. Around 1280, Cimabue painted the '' Maestà'', originally displayed in the church of San Francesco at

, but now at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. This work established a style that was followed subsequently by numerous artists, including Duccio di Buoninsegna in his '' Rucellai Madonna'' (in the past, wrongly attributed to Cimabue) as well as Giotto. Other works from the period, which were said to have heavily influenced Giotto, include a ''

Flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, floggin ...

'' (

Frick Collection The Frick Collection (colloquially known as the Frick) is an art museum on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was established in 1935 to preserve the collection of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. The collection (museum) ...

), mosaics for the Baptistery of Florence (now largely restored), the ''Maestà'' at the Santa Maria dei Servi in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

and the ''Madonna'' in the Pinacoteca of Castelfiorentino. A workshop painting, perhaps assignable to a slightly later period, is the ''Maestà with Saints Francis and Dominic'' now in the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

. During the pontificate of Pope Nicholas IV, the first

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

pope, Cimabue worked in

Assisi Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...

. At Assisi, in the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

of the Lower Basilica of San Francesco, he created a

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

named ''Madonna with Child Enthroned, Four Angels and St Francis''. The left portion of this fresco is lost, but it may have shown St Anthony of Padua (the authorship of the painting has been recently disputed for technical and stylistic reasons). Cimabue was subsequently commissioned to decorate the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

and the transept of the Upper Basilica of Assisi, in the same period of time that Roman artists were decorating the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. The cycle he created there comprises scenes from the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

s, the lives of the Virgin Mary, St Peter and St Paul. The paintings are now in poor condition because of oxidation of the brighter colours that were used by the artist. Cimabue 025

The '' Maestà of Santa Trinita'', dated to c. 1290–1300, which was originally painted for the church of Santa Trinita in

, is now in the Uffizi Gallery. The softer expression of the characters suggests that it was influenced by Giotto, who was by then already active as a painter. Cimabue spent the last period of his life, 1301 to 1302, in Pisa. There, he was commissioned to finish a mosaic of Christ Enthroned, originally begun by Maestro Francesco, in the apse of the city's cathedral. Cimabue was to create the part of the mosaic depicting St

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on how ...

, which remains the sole surviving work documented as being by the artist. Cimabue died around 1302.

Character

According to Vasari, quoting a contemporary of Cimabue, "Cimabue of Florence was a painter who lived during the author's own time, a nobler man than anyone knew but he was as a result so haughty and proud that if someone pointed out to him any mistake or defect in his work, or if he had noted any himself ... he would immediately destroy the work, no matter how precious it might be." The nickname Cimabue translates as "bull-head" but also possibly as "one who crushes the views of others", from the Italian verb ''cimare'', meaning "to top", "to shear", and "to blunt". The conclusion for the second meaning is drawn from similar commentaries on Dante, who was also known "for being contemptuous of criticism".

Legacy

History has long regarded Cimabue as the last of an era that was overshadowed by the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

. As early as 1543, Vasari wrote of Cimabue, "Cimabue was, in one sense, the principal cause of the renewal of painting," with the qualification that, "Giotto truly eclipsed Cimabue's fame just as a great light eclipses a much smaller one."

In Dante's ''Divine Comedy''

In Canto XI of his '' Purgatorio'',

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

laments the quick loss of public interest in Cimabue in the face of Giotto's revolution in art. Cimabue himself does not appear in ''Purgatorio'', but is mentioned by Oderisi, who is also repenting for his pride. The artist serves to represent the fleeting nature of fame in contrast with the Enduring God.

O vanity of human powers, how briefly lasts the crowning green of glory, unless an age of darkness follows! In painting Cimabue thought he held the field but now it's Giotto has the cry, so that the other's fame is dimmed.

Market

On 27 October 2019, '' The Mocking of Christ'', was sold for €24m (£20m; $26.6m), a price the auctioneers described as a new world record for a medieval painting. The picture had been located in the kitchen of a home in northern France, and its owner had been unaware of its value.

List of works

Around a dozen works are securely attributed to Cimabue, with several less secure attributions. None are signed or dated. * Crucifixes ** Crucifix (Cimabue, Santa Croce), c. 1265, Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence ** Crucifix (Cimabue, Arezzo), c. 1267–1271, Basilica of San Domenico, Arezzo * Frescos c. 1277–1280 in the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, Assisi ** '' Nativity and Betrothal of the Virgin'' ** Choir, central vault, right transept * Three surviving panels (of eight) from the ''Diptych of devotion'', c.1280 ** '' The Mocking of Christ'',

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, Paris ** '' Virgin and Child with Two Angels'',

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, London ** ''The Flagellation of Christ'',

, New York * Maestà or Virgin and Child Enthroned ** '' Maestà,'' c. 1280, Pisa, now

** '' Maestà of Santa Maria dei Servi,'' 1280–1285, Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi, Bologna ** '' Gualino Madonna,'' 1280–1283, Galleria Sabauda, Turin ** ?: '' Madonna di Castelfiorentino,'' c. 1283–1284, , Castelfiorentino ** '' Santa Trinita Maestà,'' c. 1290–1300, Santa Trinita, Florence, now

, Florence * Mosaic ceiling at

Florence Baptistery The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John (), is a religious building in Florence, Italy. Dedicated to the patron saint of the city, John the Baptist, it has been a focus of religious, civic, and artistic life since its ...

, c. 1300 * Mosaic of '' Christ enthroned with the Virgin and St John'', Pisa Cathedral, 1301–1302

Gallery

File:CrocifissoCimabue-Arezzo-Photo taken by Senet. April 20, 2010-Perspective correction, crop and blackframe with GIMP by Paolo Villa 2019.jpg, '' Crucifix'' (c. 1267–1271), San Domenico, Arezzo File:La Vierge et l'Enfant en majesté entourés de six anges - Cimabue - Musée du Louvre Peintures INV 254 ; MR 159.jpg, '' Maestà'' (c. 1280),

, Paris File:Cimabue Diptych Overview FR.svg, Hypothetical reconstruction of the Diptych File:Cimabue, The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Angels.jpg, '' Virgin and Child with Two Angels'' (c. 1280),

, London File:Cimabue Christ Mocked.jpg, '' The Mocking of Christ (Cimabue)'' (c. 1280), sold at auction for €24m in 2019 File:Cimabue - Flagellation.jpg, '' The Flagellation of Christ'' (c. 1280),

, New York File:Santa Maria dei Servi, bo, interno, maestà di cimabue 01.JPG, Attributed to Cimabue, '' Maestà'' (c. 1280–1285), Santa Maria dei Servi, Bologna File:Cimabue madonna castefliorentino.jpg, '' Castelfiorentino Madonna'' (c. 1283–1284), Museo di Santa Verdiana, Castelfiorentino File:Cerchia di cimabue o artista senese, ultima cena di new orleans 01.jpg, ''The Last Supper'' File:Cimabue - Madonna Enthroned with the Child, St Francis and four Angels (detail) - WGA04921.jpg, ''Madonna Enthroned with the Child, St Francis and four Angels'' (detail) File:Cimabue 037.jpg, '' Maestà of Santa Trinita'', (detail) ''Prophet'' File:Cimabue - Crucifix (detail) - WGA04929.jpg, Detail of the '' Santa Croce Crucifix'' showing Apostle John File:Cimabue 001.jpg, Detail of mosaic '' Christ enthroned with the Virgin and St John'' showing St. John the Evangelist

References

Citations

Sources

* * * *

External links

*
Cimabue. Picturesand Biography

. A video discussion about the painting from smarthistory.khanacademy.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cimabue 1240s births 1302 deaths 13th-century Italian painters 14th-century Italian painters Italian Roman Catholics Painters from Florence Gothic painters Italian male painters Italian mosaic artists