Cimabue in the context of "Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi"

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⭐ Core Definition: Cimabue

Giovanni Cimabue (/ˌməˈb/ CHEE-mə-BOO-ay, Italian: [tʃimaˈbuːe]; c. 1240 – 1302), also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian painter and designer of mosaics from Florence.

Although heavily influenced by Byzantine models, Cimabue is generally regarded as one of the first great Italian painters to break from the Italo-Byzantine style. Compared with the norms of medieval art, his works have more lifelike figural proportions and a more sophisticated use of shading to suggest volume. According to Italian painter and historian Giorgio Vasari, Cimabue was the teacher of Giotto, the first great artist of the Italian Proto-Renaissance. However, many scholars today tend to discount Vasari's claim by citing earlier sources that suggest otherwise.

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👉 Cimabue in the context of Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi

The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi (Italian: Basilica di San Francesco d'Assisi; Latin: Basilica Sancti Francisci Assisiensis) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor Conventual in Assisi, a town in the Umbria region in central Italy, where Saint Francis was born and died. It is a papal minor basilica and one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. With its accompanying friary, Sacro Convento, the basilica is a distinctive landmark to those approaching Assisi. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

The basilica, which was begun in 1228, is built into the side of a hill and comprises two churches (known as the Upper Church and the Lower Church) and a crypt, where the remains of the saint are interred. The interior of the Upper Church is an important early example of the Gothic style in Italy. The Upper and Lower Churches are decorated with frescoes by numerous late medieval painters from the Roman and Tuscan schools, and include works by Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti, and possibly Pietro Cavallini. The range and quality of the works give the basilica a unique importance in demonstrating the outstanding development of Italian art of this period, especially if compared with the rest of Christian Europe.

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Cimabue in the context of Pisanello

Pisanello (c. 1380/1395 – c. 1450/1455), born Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Antonio di Puccio da Cereto, also erroneously called Vittore Pisano by Giorgio Vasari, was one of the most distinguished painters of the early Italian Renaissance and Quattrocento. He was acclaimed by poets such as Guarino da Verona and praised by humanists of his time, who compared him to such illustrious names as Cimabue, Phidias and Praxiteles.

Pisanello is known for his resplendent frescoes in murals, portraits, easel pictures, and a number of drawings such as those in the Codex Vallardi (Louvre). He is the most important commemorative portrait medallist in the first half of the 15th century, and he can claim to have originated this important genre.

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Cimabue in the context of Arezzo

Arezzo (UK: /əˈrɛts, æˈr-/ ə-RET-soh, arr-ET-soh, US: /ɑːˈr-/ ar-ET-soh; Italian: [aˈrettso]) is a city and comune in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of Florence at an elevation of 296 metres (971 ft) above sea level. As of 2022, the population was about 97,000.

Known as the city of gold and of the high fashion, Arezzo was home to artists and poets such as Giorgio Vasari, Guido of Arezzo and Guittone d'Arezzo and in its province to Renaissance artist Michelangelo. In the artistic field, the city is famous for the frescoes by Piero della Francesca inside the Basilica of San Francesco, and the crucifix by Cimabue inside the Basilica of San Domenico. The city is also known for the important Giostra del Saracino, a game of chivalry that dates back to the Middle Ages.

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Cimabue in the context of Italo-Byzantine

Italo-Byzantine is a style term in art history, mostly used for medieval paintings produced in Italy under heavy influence from Byzantine art. It initially covers religious paintings copying or imitating the standard Byzantine icon types, but painted by artists without a training in Byzantine techniques. These are versions of Byzantine icons, most of the Madonna and Child, but also of other subjects; essentially they introduced the relatively small portable painting with a frame to Western Europe. Very often they are on a gold ground. It was the dominant style in Italian painting until the end of the 13th century, when Cimabue and Giotto began to take Italian, or at least Florentine, painting into new territory. But the style continued until the 15th century and beyond in some areas and contexts.

Maniera greca ("Greek style/manner") was the Italian term used at the time, and by Vasari and others; it is one of the first post-classical European terms for style in art. Vasari was no admirer, defining the Renaissance as a rejection of "that clumsy Greek style" ("quella greca goffa maniera"); other Renaissance writers were similarly critical.

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Cimabue in the context of Ioannis Permeniates

Ioannis Permeniates (Greek: Ιωάννης Περμενιάτης; died 1550) also known as Giovanni Permeniate, Joannes Permeniates or Zuan Permeniatis, was a Greek painter active in Venice during the early 16th century. His most popular painting is The Virgin and Child Enthroned. He was an icon painter who attempted to escape the maniera greca. His icons exhibit qualities of both Venetian and Cretan styles. Exhibiting a more refined maniera greca, he eschews the simplicity of Duccio and Cimabue, and adds more space to his paintings.

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Cimabue in the context of Basilica of San Domenico, Arezzo

The Basilica of San Domenico is a Gothic-style church in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, dedicated to St Dominic. It is especially renowned for housing a painted crucifix (1265) by Cimabue.

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Cimabue in the context of 1300s (decade)

The 1300s was a decade of the Julian Calendar that began on 1 January 1300 and ended on 31 December 1309.

  • Spring – Sultan Osman I calls for a military campaign to strike deep into Byzantine Bithynia. During the campaign, Ottoman forces capture the towns of İnegöl and Yenişehir. The later town will be transformed into a capital city, as Osman moves his administration and personal household within its walls. By the end of the year, Ottoman forces begin blockading the major Byzantine city of Nicaea.
  • July 11 – The Battle of the Golden Spurs takes place as France retaliates against Flanders for the May 18 Matins of Bruges massacre. Flemish forces led by William of Jülich ("William the Younger") and Pieter de Coninck defeat the French army (some 9,000 men) at Kortrijk in Flanders. The cavalry charges of the French prove unable to defeat the untrained Flemish infantry militia, consisting mainly of members of the craft guilds. Many French nobles (some 500 knights) are killed, like the commander Robert II of Artois, and forced to retreat.
  • July 27Battle of Bapheus: To counter the Turkish threat at Nicomedia, Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos sends a Byzantine force (some 2,000 men) to cross over the Bosporus to relieve the city. On the plain, Turkish forces (some 5,000 light cavalry) led by Sultan Osman I defeat the Byzantines, who are forced to withdraw to Nicomedia. After the battle, Andronikos loses control of the countryside of Bithynia, withdrawing to the forts. Meanwhile, Turkish forces capture Byzantine settlements, such as the coastal city of Gemlik.
  • August 5John Segrave is appointed to the custody of Berwick Castle, leaving him in charge with an English force of some 20,000 men. Robert, along with other nobles, gives his allegiance to Edward.
  • August 31 – The Peace of Caltabellotta is signed between King Charles the Lame, King of Naples and King Frederick III of Sicily, ending the War of the Sicilian Vespers. The Kingdom of Sicily will pass to Angevin rule on Frederick's death, in return Charles pays a tribute of some 100,000 ounces of gold. Frederick hands over all his possessions in Calabria and releases Charles' son Philip I, prince of Taranto, from his prison in Cefalù.
  • September 3 (1 Muharram 702 AH) – At the start of the new Muslim year 702 AH, Mamluk Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad sends a fleet of 20 galleys) to Tripoli of Lebanon, where Mamluk forces led by Kahardash al-Zarraq al-Mansuri, begin a blockade and siege.
  • September 26 (28 Muharram 702 AH) – Fall of Ruad: The Knights Templar, European Crusaders to the Holy Land, surrender their control of the island of Ruad (modern-day Arwad, off of the coast of Syria) to the Mamluk Sultanate. Hugh Dampierre negotiates a promise that the Europeans will be allowed safe conduct to a Christian-ruled land of their choice, but Knights are attacked as soon as they emerge from the garrison. Templar Grand Master Barthélemy de Quincy is killed in battle, all of the Syrian Christian bowmen and footsoldiers are executed, and the surviving Knights Templar are taken as prisoners of war and incarcerated in Cairo.
  • SeptemberRoger de Flor, Italian military adventurer and knight (condottiere), founds the Catalan Company group of mercenaries, with soldiers (Almogavars) jobless after the Treaty of Caltabellotta.
  • January 11 – Messengers from King Edward of England arrive at Kinclaven Castle in Scotland to discuss peace with Scottish noble John Comyn.
  • January 18 – In France, King Philip the Fair issues a mandate at Toulouse to halt the threat of a civil war, declaring that "For the good of our realm... we expressly forbid and most strictly prohibit wars, battles, homicides, the burning of towns or houses, assaults or attacks on peasants or those who plow, or doing anything similar to our vassals and subjects, regardless of status or condition, in any place, or in any part of the realm," and adds that "the rash transgressors of these statutes and inhibitions ought to be punished as disturbers of the peace, regardless of contrary custom, or rather corruption allegedly followed in any part of the said realm." The action comes after Philip's meeting with Franciscan friar Bernard Délicieux concerning the Dominican Inquisition, but the King stops short of halting the Inquisition entirely despite Delicieux's claim that there had not been a single heretic among all the Albigensians for many years.
  • January 31 – Cardinal Nicolò Albertini de Prato is dispatched by Pope Benedict XI as the papal legate to oversee negotiation of peace between Tuscany, Romagna and the Marca Trevigiana.
  • February 9War of Scottish Independence: Scottish nobles led by Robert the Bruce and John Comyn ("John the Red"), negotiate a peace treaty with King Edward I of England ("Edward Longshanks"). His terms are accepted, and the Scots submit to English rule. In return, they are granted life and liberty under their old laws and freedom from the forfeiture of their lands. A few prominent nobles are singled out for temporary banishment – among them John de Soules, guardian of Scotland, who is exiled to France. No terms are offered to William Wallace, Edward's most wanted enemy, who remains defiantly at large despite every effort of Edward to capture him.
  • February 20Battle of Happrew: Scottish rebels led by William Wallace and Simon Fraser fight guerilla warfare against King Edward I of England. They defend themselves against a vanguard of English knights at Peebles, in the Scottish Borders. During the skirmish, the Scots are defeated and routed. Wallace and Fraser narrowly escape being captured.
  • March 17 – Cardinal Albertini, the papal legate and peacemaker, enters Florence and is granted special powers by the government to facilitate his mission.
  • March 23John I of Arborea, nicknamed "Chiano" and the ruler of western Sardinia as Judge of Arborea dies. He is succeeded by his sons Marianus III and Andrew
  • Battle of Skafida: Emperor Michael IX Palaiologos sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (some 10,000 men) to halt the expansion of the Bulgarians in Thrace. The two armies meet near Sozopol on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. During the battle, the Bulgarian army led by Tsar Theodore Svetoslav is defeated and routed. The Byzantines, infatuated with the chase of the retreating enemy, crowd on a bridge – which possibly is sabotaged, and break down. The Bulgarians capture many Byzantine soldiers and some nobles are held for ransom. Svetoslav secures his territorial gains and stabilizes himself as the sole ruler of the Bulgarian Empire (until 1322).
  • The Byzantines lose the island of Chios, in the Aegean Sea, to the Genoese under Admiral Benedetto I Zaccaria. He establishes an autonomous lordship and justifies the act to the Byzantine court as necessary to prevent the island from being captured by Turkish pirates. Benedetto is granted the island as a fief for a period of 10 years.
  • In London, a city ordinance decrees that heating with coal is forbidden when Parliament is in session (the ordinance is not particularly effective).
  • January 25 – King Edward II marries the 13-year-old Isabella of France, daughter of King Philip IV of France ("Philip the Fair"). The marriage takes place at Boulogne and Edward leaves his friend and favourite, Piers Gaveston, as regent in his absence. Isabella's wardrobe indicates her wealth and style – she has dresses of silk, velvet, taffeta and cloth along with numerous furs; she has over 72 headdresses and coifs. Isabella brings with her two gold crowns, gold and silver dinnerware and 419 yards of linen. Meanwhile, Edward alienates the nobles by placing Gaveston in such a powerful position, who react by signing the Boulogne agreement on January 31.
  • February 1Herman I the Tall Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel (and co-ruler of Brandenburg with Otto IV), dies and is succeeded as Margrave by his son John V.
  • February 25 – Edward II is crowned at Westminster Abbey under the guidance of Henry Woodlock, bishop of Winchester. During the ceremony, Piers Gaveston is given the honour of carrying the crown. At the banquet that followed, Edward spends more time with Gaveston than with his wife Isabella of France. Isabella's family, who have travelled with her from France, leave to report back to Philip IV of Edward's favouritism for Gaveston over Isabella. As part of the coronation, Edward swears an oath to uphold "the rightful laws and customs which the community of the realm shall have chosen".
  • March 8 – King Denis of Portugal, "the Poet King", grants Póvoa de Varzim a charter, the Foral, giving royal lands to 54 families, who found a municipality known as Póvoa around Praça Velha.
  • March 18 – Brothers Andrei Rurik and Lev II Rurik become the co-monarchs of Ruthenia (now part of Ukraine and Poland, with a capital at Lviv), upon the death of their father, King Yuri I of Galicia. The two brothers will reign until their deaths in 1323 at the Battle of Berestia against Mongol invaders.
  • April 24 – Spanish kings James II of Aragon and Ferdinand IV of Castile persuade Pope Clement V to grant the papal bull Indesinentis cure, authorizing them approval and church financial support for a crusade to rid the Iberian peninsula of Islam, as well as to conquer Corsica and Sardinia. The two monarchs fail to mention their collaboration with the Muslim Marinid Empire, and use the papal bull to plan a blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar with their combined fleet of 40 warships on their mission to expel the Saracen forces from Spain.
  • April 29 – Pope Clement V issues the papal bull Prioribus decanis granting King Ferdinand IV 110th of clergy taxes collected in Castile, in order to finance the war against Granada.
  • April – After his ascent to the throne, the Emir Nasr ad-Din Muhammad of Granada sends envoys to the Marinid court at Fez, in Morocco.
  • May 5Robert the Wise becomes the new King of Naples upon the death of his father, Charles the Lame.
  • May 12 – Marinid Sultan Abu al-Rabi Sulayman launches an attack on Ceuta. He concludes an alliance with King James II of Castile, and concedes commercial benefits to Castilian merchants. Abu al-Rabi also sends 1,000 measures of wheat to Aragon. A few months later, Marinid forces, without Castilian support, occupy Ceuta and expel Saracen forces from Morocco.
  • June 15 – The second coronation of Charles I as King of Hungary takes place at Székesfehérvár after a first attempt in 1301 was not recognized.
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Cimabue in the context of Maestà

Maestà [maeˈsta], the Italian word for 'majesty', designates a classification of images of the enthroned Madonna with the child Jesus, the designation generally implying accompaniment by angels, saints, or both. The Maestà is an extension of the "Seat of Wisdom" theme of the seated "Mary Theotokos", "Mary Mother of God", which is a counterpart to the earlier icon of Christ in Majesty, the enthroned Christ that is familiar in Byzantine mosaics. Maria Regina is an art historians' synonym for the iconic image of Mary enthroned, with or without the Child.

In the West, the image seems to have developed from Byzantine precedents such as the coin of Constantine's Empress Fausta, crowned and with their sons on her lap and from literary examples, such as Flavius Cresconius Corippus's celebration of Justin II's coronation in 565. Paintings depicting the Maestà came into the mainstream artistic repertory, especially in Rome, in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, with an increased emphasis on the veneration of Mary. The Maestà was often executed in fresco technique directly on plastered walls or as paintings on gessoed wooden altar panels.

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