All Saints Madonna

This great altarpiece, painted by Giotto in circa 1310, is a very important milestone in the history of art. It was painted for the Florentine Church of Ognissanti, hence the name.

Before Giotto, painting was still linked to the schematic Byzantine style and its archaisms. The figures were often rigid, two-dimensional and did not evoke emotional involvement with the viewer. Giotto broke with that tradition, revolutionizing painting and the representation of the human figure. Without Giotto, the cultural, philosophical and artistic movement that we all call the Renaissance would never have been born.

For the first time in the history of Western painting, both the Virgin and Child appear to be inserted in a real, well-defined space (not floating in space). Mary is seated on a throne that appears to have been designed with perspective in mind, conveying the idea of a royal setting. The folds of the garments outline the volume of the bodies. The figures are more plausible, more human, they are no longer flat as if they were puppets on a flat surface (which they are, of course). Just look at the angels in the foreground singing so realistically or the Virgin's hand holding the Child like a real mother would.

Giotto's style is, therefore, an innovation in the way of painting carried out until then. Although some elements still recall traditional methods, such as the golden background or the hierarchy of the figures (the Virgin and Child are large, the angels are smaller in comparison), the new value given to the human figure and its relationship with the space make This work is a very important example of the new course of painting of the 14th century.

Although Giotto's perspective remains intuitive and not scientific like that which would develop in the 15th century, the figurative revolution that would take place over the next 100 years and known as the Renaissance is due in large part to this great master.