GIOTTO di Bondone
(b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze)

No. 22 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 6. Christ among the Doctors

1304-06
Fresco, 200 x 185 cm
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

In a rich red robe, the little twelve-year-old Jesus sits in the temple and holds a discussion - as his gesture quite clearly indicates. The arches of the architecture seem to echo the young boy's speech and at the same time to concentrate events on him. The scribes listen closely and in doing so show quite different reactions. Only one of them is completely distracted by the appearance of the worried parents.