Architecture: As early as the 12th century, the Cistercians brought French-Gothic elements (ribbed vaults, pointed arches) to Italy (Chiaravalle, now in Milan, 1172 ff.). The architecture of the mendicant order is based on this already simplified construction system, with which Italy made an independent contribution to the Gothic, contrary to the French cathedral Gothic: instead of the steeply rising articulated structure, hall churches or basilicas of hall-like width were created with closed wall surfaces for extensive fresco cycles and often open roof trusses. Even in the early buildings (Assisi, San Francesco, 1228–53; Bologna, San Francesco, 1236 ff.) The horizontal and vertical lines are perfectly balanced. The Dominican Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. For more articles about Italy and Europe, please follow Payhelpcenter.
The highlight of the architecture of the mendicant order is the Franciscan church of Santa Croce in Florence (1294/95 ff.). In monumental dimensions and simple basic forms, the room is made clear as a stereometric body in which inside and outside correspond. Right-angled structures emphasize the flatness of the bounding walls. The architecture of the mendicant order also determined the Florentine Cathedral, which was started in 1296 by Arnolfo di Cambio, who was also an important sculptor (according to G. Vasari, he also created the designs for Santa Croce). With its black and white marble stratification, the broadly laid out cathedral of Siena continued the Romanesque tradition of Tuscany. Also in that of G. PisanoDespite the extensive use of Gothic forms, the two-dimensional, clearly delimited character was retained, as was the facade of the Orvieto Cathedral designed by L. Maitani in 1310.
In 1334 Giotto began the campanile of the Duomo of Florence. While the cathedral of Milan (1386 ff.) Shows close dependence on the French cathedral Gothic, San Petronio in Bologna (1390 ff.) Was connected to the Florentine cathedral. Since the 13th century, secular building has gained increasing importance in city palaces closed in blocks: Florence, Bargello (1254 ff.) And Palazzo Vecchio (1298–1314); Piacenza, Palazzo Comunale (1281 ff.). Exceptions to this defensive structure are the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena (1297 ff.) With its swinging facade and tracery windows and the richly decorated palaces of Venice: Doge’s Palace (1309 ff.) And Casa d’Oro (1421 ff.).
Sculpture: The inclusion of ancient models (Capua, Triumphtor, 1234–39) sponsored by Emperor Friedrich II in southern Italy around 1230 can be seen in the work of N. Pisano. He created a new type of pulpit by combining Gothic architectural forms with the relief style of ancient sarcophagi (pulpits in the baptistery in Pisa, 1260, and in the cathedral of Siena, 1266–68). His student Arnolfo di Cambio translated the volume of the figures into crystalline-abstract forms (facade sculptures for the cathedral in Florence, after 1296; today mainly Museo dell’Opera del Duomo), during G. Pisano gave his works a passionate, moving expression in a new way (facade sculptures of the cathedral in Siena, from 1284, pulpits in Sant’Andrea, Pistoia, 1297–1301, and in the cathedral in Pisa, 1311). The ancient tradition also remained alive with the subsequent sculptors Tino di Camaino and L. Maitani. In Florence, A. Pisano (bronze door at the baptistery, 1330 ff., Reliefs on the campanile of the cathedral, 1334 ff.) Shows Giotto’s influence in the treatment of figure and space. A. Orcagna stands out among the younger masters (tabernacle in Or San Michele, Florence, 1359).
Painting: The new beginning in painting with a break from the medieval-Byzantine tradition around 1300 meant a profound change. The key figure is Giotto, who occupied a clearly delimited, consistently constructed pictorial space with figures carefully modeled in tangible physicality, whereby he restricted the action and the number of people to the essentials. In his art, with which he already created the basis of Renaissance painting, the pathos formulas handed down from antiquity received lively differentiated expressiveness (Padua, frescoes in the arena chapel, probably 1305/06). His imagery, admired by his contemporaries for its “naturalness”, had a lasting impact on painting in the Trecento. Duccio di Buoninsegna took up the stage area connected to Giotto in the panels on the back of his large altar for the cathedral of Siena (1310–30), but retained its elegant lines. S. Martini and the brothers P. and A. Lorenzetti opened Giotto’s flat box room into perspective interiors (predella panels of the altarpiece Martinis with the coronation of Roberts of Anjou, 1317; Naples, Museo e Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte) or into wide landscapes (frescoes in the Sienese Palazzo Pubblico by A. Lorenzetti, 1337 ff.). The new spatial image concept was quickly spread north of the Alps, especially through the Sienese painters working in Avignon. Giotto’s successors in Florence shaped his style in a narrative, detailed variety (T. Gaddi, B. Daddi and others). The main master in Pisa in the 14th century was F. Traini (attribution of the frescoes in Campo Santo). The color harmony in the one that is active in Northern Italy, among others. Altichiero, influenced by Giotto’s Paduan frescoes, points to later Venetian painting.
