Development of Naturalistic Style: Italian Painting

Byzantine art was prominent from the 5th century up until the 14th century, extracting influence from ancient Greece. Although, in the early 14th century, the Italian artists began to break out of that style of art and began a new naturalistic style. From the 1300s and on, this new style began to spread its influence throughout Italy, while still retaining some traces of maniera greca .This transition from Greek style, seen in Bonaventura Berlinghieri’s work St. Francis ( Church of San Francesco of Pescia), of c. 1236, to a more naturalistic style used partly in Cimabue’s work Virgin and Child Enthroned ( Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence) of c. 1280, and more clearly and deliberately in Giotto’s Virgin and Child Enthroned ( Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence) of c. 1305-1310, seems to come to a halt, or even revert back to maniera greca, when we look at a work of art done in Russia in the early 16th century. This work of art is known as the Enthroned Mother of God with Saints (The Menil Collection, Houston). Maniera greca is used to describe art that is derived from ancient Greece. Some of the most common aesthetic qualities are deep contrasts of highlights and shadows, gilding, lack of naturalistic qualities, and the use of icons. One of the most popular examples of classic Byzantine style is the work done by Bonaventura Berlinghieri in 1236, St. Francis, which incorporates common aspects of maniera greca. Berlinghieri uses iconography to depict the life of St. Francis, who appears to bear the wounds of Jesus Christ. Surrounding him are images from his life, which lack any 3D form and spatial depth, making the painting appear unrealistic; although, in this time, unrealistic, or abstract, paintings were common. The whole image appears very flat and the space is very shallow. St. Francis seems to be hovering in the center image, but I believe that Berlinghieri was not trying to give that affect; he only lacked the

knowledge of perspectives in painting. The use of gilding is evident in the folds of St. Francis’ drapery. This is also evident in the gold flaking of the image itself. Lastly, the deep contrasts between the blacks of the draperies and the gold of the background are yet another example of maniera greca in Bonaventura’s work.
A slight progression of realism began after Bonaventura’s work St. Francis in 1236 when Cimabue created his Virgin and Child Enthroned in 1280. This painting suggests that Cimabue is still influenced by the classical style of maniera greca, but compared to Bonaventura’s there are a few things that show a shift from the unrealistic qualities of Greek art to the more naturalistic art that churns further down the road. One of the aspects that is different is the use of three-dimensional form. The legs of the virgin appear to protrude toward the viewer as well as the throne. Cimabue also exhibits improvement in spatial depth with the placement of the angels beside and behind the throne, as well as the prophets beneath, making the viewer feel as if they are “suspended in space in front of the image” (Stokstad, p.535). There is more detail in the faces and bodies of the subjects as well as in the throne, giving the painting a more natural appeal overall. Despite the evidence of a shift to a more realistic style, Cimabue still has traces of maniera greca. One of the traces that one could find is the use of gold within the folds of the virgin’s gown. Another is the contrasts of highlights and shadows. Lastly, he uses iconography to serve as an existential link to God, as did the majority of Byzantine paintings. Although there is a big difference between Bonaventura’s work and Cimabue’s when it comes to the progression of naturalistic style, the spatial depth, three-dimensional form, and attention to detail is still not as developed as it is in Giotto’s Virgin and Child Enthroned.

The artist that had the largest impact on the transition from Byzantine style to naturalistic is Giotto, with his work entitled Virgin and Child Enthroned, in 1305. Giotto intentionally sought to break from the traditional Byzantine style, so his work was more lifelike than that of Cimabue’s, and especially more than that of Bonaventura’s. For example, although both Cimabue and Giotto illustrated greater spatial depth than in St. Francis, Giotto had done a better job with the placement of his subjects to create a deeper depth in his painting. It appears that the angels and prophets extend further beyond the throne, giving a more realistic feel of space. “Giotto has created the sense that these are fully three-dimensional beings, whose plainly draped, bulky bodies inhabit real space” (Stokstad pg. 537). The way their clothes shape their bodies to form sculptural solidity and the use of shadowing really help to allude to three-dimensional form, thus making the image feel more real. Looking at the throne one can see the minute details that Giotto focused on, like the many decorations and the use of multiple colors, and the use of perspectives to make it appear that the throne is encompassing the virgin, giving it more of a life like feel. There is also more emotional realism in the faces, which was not present in Bonaventura’s painting, whose characters almost appear emotionless. Another way that Giotto broke from the classical Byzantine style was by removing the gold from the folds of the draperies, which in turn makes the painting less stylized. Giotto had a big influence on Italy and the progression to naturalistic style art was in full fruition.
More Europeans picked up on the style that Giotto had established in the early 14th century, yet in the early 16th century a painting known as Enthroned Mother of God with Saints seems to have reverted back to classical maniera greca. Although there seems to be some trace

of naturalistic style in a few aspects of this painting. The painting that this work of art compares most to is St. Francis by Berlinghieri. There is a lack of three-dimensional form, although the virgin seems to portray some 3D, especially at the knees and feet, which are placed on an object before the throne. Since the perspective is far off, it takes away from the 3D effect that I think that the painter might have been going for. With the characters on the border of the image being so flat, it also gives the rest of the work a flat feeling, although not as flat as Berlinghieri’s characters. This work seems very simple. Unlike Giotto, this artist did not focus on minute details, giving the subjects very plain appearances. Not only the subjects themselves, but the work as a whole is very simple and not as busy as the other works. The characters are not packed in and bunched behind one another like those in Cimabue’s and Giotto’s. Also, the throne is not as elaborately decorated; in fact it does not give the same grandiose effect that a throne normally gives, but rather it comes across as just a plain large couch. Another way this expresses maniera greca is the use of gilding throughout the background, among the Bibles in the saints hands, and also on Jesus’ clothes and in the folds of the virgin’s drapery. Also, in this painting the virgin is not as idealized like in Cimabue’s and especially Giotto’s, but instead she appears very plain, and a lot older and also a lot darker in shade, lacking emotional realism. The colors in this artist’s work are more dull than it Giotto’s, similarly to that of Berlinghieri. Reverting yet again back to ancient Greek style is the artist’s use of many folds within the draperies, which Giotto had done without in his work Virgin and Child Enthroned. Lastly, there is not a lot of spatial depth. The way the couch was drawn looks like the artist wanted to give the feel of spatial depth, but since the perspective is off, that too was not accomplished. Maybe this artist wanted to incorporate both maniera greca and the naturalistic style in their art, or

maybe they purposely reverted back to classic Byzantine style to preserve it, but from my standpoint this work of art most closely resembles that of Berlinghieri.
There is a clear progression from maniera greca to naturalistic style with the increase of spatial depth, three-dimensional form, and the removal of common Greek styled qualities that made the art work appear more stylized than realistic. This transition continued on past Giotto, although in the work Enthrone Mother of God with Saints, this change was no longer evident. Then again, not everyone is going to follow in the same footsteps as everyone else, hence Giotto breaking from the common maniera greca style.