BASILICA OF SAN FRANCESCO, Upper Basilica Giotto 1

In the transept, you’ve seen the way Cimabue painted, illustrating the life of Christ and the Apocalypse. He used dramatic, visionary images, which are often difficult to interpret, and his painting style was too far removed from reality to be understood by the simpler folk who would be flocking to the church.

The decision was thus taken to bring in younger painters who were creating a simpler, more natural style, and were familiar with the fresco technique. It’s time at last to see how Giotto – one of the most talented “storytellers” of his time – depicted the life of Saint Francis, starting at the end of the wall on the right, near the transept.

The first episode, “The Homage of a Simple Man”, shows a man spreading a cloak before the saint, in the square of Assisi, opposite the Temple of Minerva. The scene is perfectly clear, and requires no explanation. Giotto’s artistic language is simple, straightforward, and with a wealth of references to reality, not only in the human figures and their poses and expressions, but also in the illustration of the setting, with the city of Assisi and its buildings clearly visible and recognizable. The buildings are shown as they were in Giotto’s time, as are the characters. For the temple, however, he painted five columns instead of six, so it would not take up too much space in the center of the scene....