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

No. 13 God Sends Gabriel to the Virgin (detail)

1306
Tempera on panel
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

The heavens have opened and ranks of angels surround God the Father on his throne. The depiction of God, with his delicately shimmering, bright robes and his hieratic face, gives the impression of his belonging to a different sphere. This particular effect is also the result of a different painting technique: God the Father is not painted as a fresco on the wall, but in tempera on a wooden panel.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.