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Giotto di Bondone Biography for Kids

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Image with four paintings. At the top is a painting of angels flying in a blue sky. Below this is a dark green rectangle. In the dark green rectangle are the words "Giotto di Bondone Biography for Kids." Below are three more paintings: Painting in tans and blacks of woman in a long flowing robe holding a staff in the right hand and a scroll in the left with the word Fides above the doorway. There is also a painting of a man who is sitting slightly sideways to the right wearing an orange robe and orange head scarf hanging down to his shoulders. The third painting is of a chariot in the sky near buildings with men dressed in brown robes looking up.

Ciao! Hello! My name is Giotto di Bondone, but you can just call me Giotto, (pronounced Zhot-toe) for most people only use my first name.

Painting of a man who is sitting slightly sideways to the rightwearing an orange robe and orange head scarf hanging down to his shoulders.
Giotto di Bondone

Let me tell you my story. I was born near Firenze, Italia – but I guess you say, Florence, Italy.

Colored map of Renaissance Italy with a red arrow pointing to Florence
Florence, Italy

Florence was known as a fine city for the arts soon after I lived, but when Rome fell to barbarians in 476 AD, they destroyed all of the art of the Roman Empire.

Image of ruins of ancient Rome

It took awhile for art to come back into style. It mostly came through the Catholic Church …

Image of white church that is the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy
Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy

… in paintings and mosaics (that is pictures made of cut glass)…

Image of mosaic design made of cut glass

… which were used to teach religious stories…

Image of mosaic picture showing four men at Pentecost
Hosios Loukas Katholikon Sanctuary Vault Pentecost Detail

 … but the church had strict rules about paintings. They didn’t even look real because the people looked flat, they showed no emotion or movement, and the paintings lacked perspective.

Image of church icons from Middle Ages from the church Annunciation Sofia Kievskaya
Icons from the church Annunciation Sofia Kievskaya

As I grew up, I helped my father by watching his sheep, and I passed my time drawing pictures of things like flowers and trees, mountains, and animals.

Photograph of a white lamb lying on its side in grass and a few dandelions.

Eventually, I had an opportunity to be an apprentice to a great painter named Cimabue (Chim-uh-byu) – you know him, I’m sure? No? Well, I assisted him with important artistic works in a number of Italian cities.

Black and white right profile of older man in a cape with a hood, the artist Cimabue
Cimabue

Soon I began to be known for my own artistic style. People were amazed at the realism of my work – people actually had expressions of joy, anger, surprise and sadness, so they looked like real alive people!

Painting in tans and blacks of woman in a long flowing robe holding a staff in the right hand and a scroll in the left with the word Fides above the doorway - the painting called Faith of the painter Giotto di Bondone's series The Seven Virtues
Faith of The Seven Virtues by Giotto di Bondone

I added depth to my scenes and backgrounds like buildings, forests and mountains also.

Painting of a chariot in the sky near buildings with men dressed in brown robes looking up, a painting called Vision of the Flaming Chariot by Giotto di Bondone
Vision of the Flaming Chariot by Giotto di Bondone
Painting of hills and cliffs with two men in brown robes standing at the bottom of the hill in the left corner, one man in a brown robe kneeling in prayer on the hill, and one man in a brown robe drinking from a stream on the right side of the picture. This is a painting called The Miracle of the Spring 1299 by Giotto di Bondone.
The Miracle of the Spring 1299 by Giotto di Bondone

Soon I became a master artist with a workshop and assistants. I painted many fantastico frescoes (that is painting on wet plaster) in the Church of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy.

Image of white church that is the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy
Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy

You know, St. Francis of Assisi?

Painting of a man in a blue robe handing a brown robe (mantle) to a man in a brown robe at the left forefront of the picture. At the right forefront of the picture is a donkey. In the background are hills and buildings on the hills. This is a painting called St. Francis Giving His Mantle to a Poor Man by Giotto di Bondone.
St. Francis Giving His Mantle to a Poor Man 1299 by Giotto di Bondone

I also painted many frescoes in Padua, Italy and later again in Florence. In fact, I traveled around Italy painting.

Painting of two men in brown robes, one with a halo bending towards birds flying through trees. This is a painting called St. Francis Preaching to the Birds by Giotto di Bondone.
St. Francis Preaching to the Birds 1299 by Giotto di Bondone

I also created some fine architectural structures like the bell tower in Florence now known as Giotto’s Campanile or Bell Tower.

Image of a beautiful tower which is called Giotto's Campanile.
Giotto’s Campanile

I understand that my work was the starting point of Italian Renaissance art and many amazing artists followed me in Italia and Europe whom I influenced, such as Leonardo da Vinci,…

Painting of man with long grey hair and a long grey beard and black hat, Leonardo da Vinci.
Leonardo da Vinci

…Michelangelo,…

Painting of man with black hair and black beard and lined face.
Michelangelo

…Paul Cezanne,…

Painting of a man with a short grey beard in a brown jacket and brown hat with a rim, painter Paul Cezanne.
Paul Cezanne

…and Pablo Picasso. I don’t know them though, do you?

Black and white photograph of a bald older man in a white and black striped shirt
Pablo Picasso

Do you know what I painted with? In my day, there were no art stores to buy paints and brushes, so artists had to make our own paint by grinding minerals, clay, and plants and berries and mixing it with egg yolk and water!

Image of a mockup of a computer screen with thw image of a man with an orange scarf on his head. This is next to green swatches of paint and the words Investigating Giotto di Bondone. In front of the computer screen are pages from the unit study and two sprial bound books. Next to the sprial books are an arrow and the words on the left side which say Teacher Notes and an arrow and the words on the right side which say Student Activity Pack.

Investigate the life and art works of Giotto di Bondone in this artist unit study!

I WANT INVESTIGATING GIOTTO

Here’s what you should remember about me.

  • I am Giotto who lived from 1266 to 1337.
  • I am an Italian painter of the Proto-Renaissance or starting point of Italian Renaissance art.
  • My paintings are of realistic people who showed emotion.
  • I used egg tempera to paint.

Watch the video about me too!

Resources:

Get a free ebooklet on How to Draw a Face

Jus’ Classical is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Giotto (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists) by Mike Venezia

Vincent’s Starry Night and Other Stories: A Children’s History of Art

DK Annotated Guides Great Artists: The Lives of 50 Painters Explored Through Their Work

Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters (Bright Ideas for Learning) by MaryAnn F Kohl

More articles from Jus’ Classical:

Rembrandt Biography for Kids
Lorenzo Ghiberti Biography for Kids
Claude Monet Biography for Kids
Fra Angelico Biography for Kids
Grandma Moses Biography for Kids
Albrecht Dürer Biography for Kids
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