Moving Towards Modernization

Triumph of the Church, photo courtesy
of Wikipedia Creative Commons

The Proto-Renaissance, a most pertinent period in history, became the fundamental base for modernizing art.  Once masters like Cimabue, Giotto and Duccio brought artists out of the middle ages, painters and sculptors alike began to find the techniques for true realism in their arts.

Andrea da Firenze (1343-1377) was one of these men, working in style a similar to the masters before him.  A Florentine fresco painter, his best known works still exist today in the Spanish Chapel in Santa Maria Novella.  A prime example of his frescos there, Triumph of the Church, (1366-68) displays the artist’s keen eye for observation.  The fresco, commissioned by Buonamico Giudalotti, depicts a scene in which Jesus looks down upon the city of Florence, along with the Church Triumphant.  Those residing on earth, or the Church Militant, talk or kneel in prayer, while dogs (a symbol of the Dominican monks) dutifully stand guard. 

Although Andrea took influence from Giotto, his composition still resembles those from the Byzantine era.  Though there is a slight sense of depth, the fresco is very much based in hierarchy of scale, and has a frontality to it that does not allow for true realism. 

Close up of Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, photo
courtesy of Wikipedia Creative Commons, cropped

However, what is most impressive about this fresco is the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.  Although Brunelleschi’s dome for the cathedral had not yet been completed, Andrea’s depiction of the dome is decently accurate; and the detailing, architecture, shading and perspective is impressive.  The cathedral is perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Triumph of the Church.

Altogether, Andrea’s fresco demonstrates the forward movement of the time.  Though artists were still only moving out of the Byzantine style, modernization was quickly spreading as more artists took influence from the masters.