Cimabue: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 01:53, 30 May 2026

File:Cimabue - Maestà di Santa Trinita - Google Art Project.jpg

Santa Trinita Maestà, 1280–1285, Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Giovanni Cimabue (/ˌtʃiːməˈbuːeɪ/ CHEE-mə-BOO-ay,^[1] it; c. 1240 – 1302),^[2] also known as Cenni di Pepo^[3] or Cenni di Pepi,^[4]^[5] 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.^[6] 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,^[2] 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.^[7]

Life

File:Cimabue (attr.), tavola di san francesco, museo della porziuncola.jpg

St. Francis of Assisi

Little is known about Cimabue's early life. One source that recounts his career is Vasari's Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, but its accuracy is uncertain.

File:San Francesco Cimabue.jpg

Fresco in the Lower Basilica of Assisi

He was born in Florence and died in Pisa. Hayden Maginnis speculates that he could have trained in Florence under masters who were culturally connected to Byzantine art. The art historian Pietro Toesca attributed the Crucifixion in the church of San Domenico in Arezzo to Cimabue, dating around 1270, making it the earliest known attributed work that departs from the Byzantine style.^[8] Cimabue's Christ is bent, and the clothes have the golden striations that were introduced by Coppo di Marcovaldo.

Around 1272, Cimabue is documented as being present in Rome,^[9] and a little later he made another Crucifix for the Florentine church of Santa Croce.^[10] Now restored, after having been damaged by the 1966 Arno River flood, the work was larger and more advanced than the one in Arezzo, with traces of naturalism perhaps inspired by the works of Nicola Pisano.

According to Vasari, Cimabue, while travelling from Florence to Vespignano, came upon the 10-year-old Giotto (c. 1277) drawing his sheep with a rough rock upon a smooth stone. He asked if Giotto would like to come and stay with him, which the child accepted with his father's permission.^[11] Vasari elaborates that during Giotto's apprenticeship, he allegedly painted a fly on the nose of a portrait Cimabue was working on; the teacher attempted to sweep the fly away several times before he understood his pupil's prank.^[11] Many scholars now discount Vasari's claim that he took Giotto as his pupil, citing earlier sources that suggest otherwise.^[7]

Around 1280, Cimabue painted the Maestà, originally displayed in the church of San Francesco at Pisa, but now at the Louvre.^[12] This work established a style that was followed subsequently by numerous artists, including Duccio di Buoninsegna in his Rucellai Madonna (in the past, wrongly attributed to Cimabue) as well as Giotto. Other works from the period, which were said to have heavily influenced Giotto, include a Flagellation (Frick Collection),^[13] mosaics for the Baptistery of Florence (now largely restored), the Maestà at the Santa Maria dei Servi in Bologna and the Madonna in the Pinacoteca of Castelfiorentino. A workshop painting, perhaps assignable to a slightly later period, is the Maestà with Saints Francis and Dominic now in the Uffizi.^[14]

During the pontificate of Pope Nicholas IV, the first Franciscan pope,^[15] Cimabue worked in Assisi.^[16] At Assisi, in the transept of the Lower Basilica of San Francesco, he created a fresco named Madonna with Child Enthroned, Four Angels and St Francis. The left portion of this fresco is lost, but it may have shown St Anthony of Padua (the authorship of the painting has been recently disputed for technical and stylistic reasons).^[14] Cimabue was subsequently commissioned to decorate the apse and the transept of the Upper Basilica of Assisi, in the same period of time that Roman artists were decorating the nave. The cycle he created there comprises scenes from the Gospels, the lives of the Virgin Mary, St Peter and St Paul. The paintings are now in poor condition because of oxidation of the brighter colours that were used by the artist.

File:Cimabue 025.jpg

Crucifix, 1287–1288, Panel, 448 cm × 390 cm (176.4 in × 153.5 in), Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence

The Maestà of Santa Trinita, dated to c. 1290–1300, which was originally painted for the church of Santa Trinita in Florence, is now in the Uffizi Gallery. The softer expression of the characters suggests that it was influenced by Giotto, who was by then already active as a painter.^[17]

Cimabue spent the last period of his life, 1301 to 1302, in Pisa. There, he was commissioned to finish a mosaic of Christ Enthroned, originally begun by Maestro Francesco, in the apse of the city's cathedral. Cimabue was to create the part of the mosaic depicting St John the Evangelist, which remains the sole surviving work documented as being by the artist.^[18] Cimabue died around 1302.^[19]

The mosaic in its architectural context

The mosaic in its architectural context
The figure of Saint John, the only documented work by Cimabue

The figure of Saint John, the only documented work by Cimabue

Character

According to Vasari, quoting a contemporary of Cimabue, "Cimabue of Florence was a painter who lived during the author's own time, a nobler man than anyone knew but he was as a result so haughty and proud that if someone pointed out to him any mistake or defect in his work, or if he had noted any himself ... he would immediately destroy the work, no matter how precious it might be."^[20]

The nickname Cimabue translates as "ox-head" but also possibly as "one who crushes the views of others", from the Italian verb cimare, meaning "to top", "to shear", and "to blunt". The conclusion for the second meaning is drawn from similar commentaries on Dante, who was also known "for being contemptuous of criticism".^[21]

Legacy

History has long regarded Cimabue as the last of an era that was overshadowed by the Italian Renaissance. As early as 1543, Vasari wrote of Cimabue, "Cimabue was, in one sense, the principal cause of the renewal of painting," with the qualification that, "Giotto truly eclipsed Cimabue's fame just as a great light eclipses a much smaller one."^[20]

In Dante's Divine Comedy

In Canto XI of his Purgatorio, Dante laments the quick loss of public interest in Cimabue in the face of Giotto's revolution in art.^[22] Cimabue himself does not appear in Purgatorio, but is mentioned by Oderisi, who is also repenting for his pride. The artist serves to represent the fleeting nature of fame in contrast with the Enduring God.^[22]

O vanity of human powers,
how briefly lasts the crowning green of glory,
unless an age of darkness follows!
In painting Cimabue thought he held the field
but now it's Giotto has the cry,
so that the other's fame is dimmed.

^[23]

Market

On 27 October 2019, The Mocking of Christ, was sold for €24m (£20m; $26.6m), a price the auctioneers described as a new world record for a medieval painting. The picture had been located in the kitchen of a home in northern France, and its owner had been unaware of its value.^[24]

List of works

While none of Cimabue’s works are signed or securely dated, art historians have attributed several to him, with varying degrees of certainty. Many works in major collections have been erroneously attributed to Cimabue.^[25]

List of works attributed to Cimabue
Image	Title	Medium	Location
File:Cimabue 027.jpg	Crucifix	Tempera and gold on wood	San Domenico, Arezzo
File:Cimabue 025.jpg	Crucifix	Tempera and gold on wood	Santa Croce, Florence
File:La Vierge et l'Enfant en majesté entourés de six anges - Cimabue - Musée du Louvre Peintures INV 254 ; MR 159.jpg	Maestà	Tempera and gold on wood	Louvre
File:Cimabue, The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Angels.jpg	Virgin and Child with Two Angels	Tempera and gold on wood	National Gallery, London
File:La Dérision du Christ - Cimabue - Musée du Louvre Peintures RFML.PE.2023.33.1 - après restauration.jpg	The Mocking of Christ	Tempera and gold on wood	Louvre
File:Cimabue - Flagellation.jpg	The Flagellation of Christ	Tempera and gold on wood	Frick Collection
File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie del battista, 1250-1330 ca., 02 nascita e imposizione del nome, attr. a cimabue.JPG	The Naming of John the Baptist	Mosaic	Florence Baptistery
File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie del battista, 1250-1330 ca., 03 san giovannino nel deserto, attr. a cimabue con ampi restauri.JPG	John the Baptist Entering the Wilderness	Mosaic	Florence Baptistery
File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie della genesi 1250-1330 ca., 04 peccato originale, attr. a gaddo gaddi.JPG	Original Sin	Mosaic	Florence Baptistery
File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie della genesi 1250-1330 ca., 05 rimpovero di dio, attr. a gaddo gaddi, con restauri.JPG	Reproach of God	Mosaic	Florence Baptistery
File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie della genesi 1250-1330 ca., 06 cacciata dal paradiso terrestre, attr. a gaddo gaddi, con restauri.JPG	Expulsion from the Garden of Eden	Mosaic	Florence Baptistery
File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie di giuseppe, 1250-1330 ca., 03 giuseppe racconta i sogni ai fratelli, ambito di coppo.JPG	Joseph Sold by His Brothers into Slavery	Mosaic	Florence Baptistery
File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie di giuseppe, 1250-1330 ca., 05 fratelli mostrano la veste insanguinata di giuseppe al padre, attr. al maestro della maddalena.JPG	Joseph's Parents Mourn His Loss	Mosaic	Florence Baptistery
File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie di giuseppe, 1250-1330 ca., 06 viaggio di giuseppe in egitto, attr. al maestro della maddalena.JPG	Joseph Goes into Egypt	Mosaic	Florence Baptistery
File:Cimabue, maestà di santa maria dei servi.jpg	Maestà	Tempera and gold on wood	Santa Maria dei Servi, Bologna
File:Cimabue, madonna di castelfiorentino, 1285 ca. 01.JPG	Castelfiorentino Madonna	Tempera and gold on wood	Museo di Santa Verdiana, Castelfiorentino
File:Cimabue - Madonna and Child, Angels and St. Francis - after resoration 2023.4.jpg	Virgin and Child with Angels and St. Francis	Fresco	Lower Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, loggette con angeli 09.jpg	Angels (now lost)	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, trapasso di maria.jpg	The Death of the Virgin	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, dormitio.jpg	Dormition of the Virgin	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, assunzione di maria 2.jpg	Assumption of the Virgin	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, cristo e maria in gloria.jpg	Christ and the Virgin Enthroned	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, crocifissione del transetto sinistro.jpg	Cruxifiction (left)	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, crocifissione del transetto destro.jpg	Cruxifiction (right)	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, visione di san giovanni a patmos.jpg	Vision of St. John on Patmos	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, angeli ai quattro canti della terra.jpg	Angels at the Four Corners of the Earth	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, visione del trono.jpg	Vision of the Golden Throne	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, caduta di babilonia.jpg	Fall of Babylon	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, san michele e il drago.jpg	St. Michael and the Dragon (now lost)	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, cristo apocalittico.jpg	Apocalyptical Christ	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, caduta di simon mago.jpg	The Fall of Simon Magnus	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, crocifissione di pietro.jpg	Martyrdom of St. Peter	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, martirio di san paolo.jpg	Martyrdom of St. Paul	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, pietro guarisce uno storpio.jpg	St. Paul Healing the Crippled Man	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, miracoli di san pietro.jpg	St. Paul Expelling Demons	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue, volta evangelisti 00.jpg	The Four Evangelists	Fresco	Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi
File:Cimabue Trinita Madonna.jpg	Santa Trinita Maestà	Tempera and gold on wood	Uffizi, Florence
File:Cimabue 001.jpg	St. John (detail of apse mosaic)	Mosaic	Pisa Cathedral

References

Citations

↑ Template:Cite Merriam-Webster
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Giorgio Vasari. Lives of the Artists. Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and P Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 1991, pp. 7–14. ISBN 978-0-19-953719-8.
↑ Joseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 38.
↑ J. A. Crowe; G. B. Calvalcaselle (1975). A History of Painting in Italy; Umbria, Florence and Siena from the Second to the Sixteenth Century. 1. AMS Press. p. 202.
↑ "Cimabue". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
↑ Fred Kleiner (2008). Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History. 2. Cengage Learning EMEA. p. 502.
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 Hayden B.J. Maginnis (2004). "In Search of an Artist". In Anne Derbes; Mark Sandona (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Giotto. Cambridge. pp. 12–13.
↑ Paoletti, John T.; Radke, Gary M. (2005). Art in Renaissance Italy. Laurence King Publishing. p. 51.
↑ Van Vechten Brown, Alice; Rankin, William (1914). A Short History of Italian Painting. J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd.
↑ Brink, Joel (October 1978). "Carpentry and Symmetry in Cimabue's Santa Croce Crucifix". The Burlington Magazine. 120 (907).
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 Eimerl, Sarel (1967). The World of Giotto: c. 1267–1337. et al. Time-Life Books. pp. 82, 85. ISBN 0-900658-15-0.
↑ Maxwell, Virginia; Leviton, Alex; Pettersen, Leif (2010). Tuscany & Umbria. Lonely Planet. p. 364.
↑ Holly Flora (2006), Cimabue and Early Italian Devotional Painting (The Frick Collection).
↑ ^14.0 ^14.1 "Madonna Enthroned with the Child, St. Francis, St. Dominic, and two Angels attributed to Cimabue". Uffizi Galleries. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
↑ Havely, Nick (2004). Dante and the Franciscans: Poverty and the Papacy in the 'Commedia'. Cambridge University Press. p. 39.
↑ Brooke, Rosalind B. (2006). The Image of St. Francis: Responses to Sainthood in the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 352.
↑ Paoletti, John T.; Radke, Gary M. (2005). Art in Renaissance Italy. Laurence King Publishing. p. 85.
↑ White, John (26 May 1993). Art and architecture in Italy 1250-1400 (3rd Revised ed.). Yale University Press. p. 175. ISBN 9707250208.
↑ Kleinhenz, Christopher (2004). Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 223–224.
↑ ^20.0 ^20.1 Vasari, Giorgio (1991). Lives of the Artists, 1550. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 13. ISBN 0-19-281754-X.
↑ Gibbs, Robert. "Cimabue". www.oxfordartonline.com. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
↑ ^22.0 ^22.1 Aligheri, Dante (2003). Purgatorio. Translated by Hollander, Jean; Hollander, Robert. New York: Anchor Books, Random House Inc. p. 245. ISBN 0-385-49700-8.
↑ Aligheri, Dante (2003). Purgatorio. Translated by Hollander, Jean; Hollander, Robert. New York: Anchor Books, Random House. pp. 236–237. ISBN 0-385-49700-8.
↑ "Masterpiece found in French kitchen fetches €24m". 27 October 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
↑ Belosi, Cimabue, 273-283.

Sources

Adams, Laurie Schneider (2001). Italian Renaissance Art. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-3690-2.
Rossetti, William Michael (1911). "Cimabue, Giovanni" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). pp. 366–367.
Vasari, Giorgio (1987). Lives of the Artists. Translated by George Bull. Penguin Classics. ISBN 9780140445008.
Vaughn, William (2000). Encyclopedia of Artists. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-521572-9.

External links

Template:Commons-inline
Cimabue. Pictures and Biography
Cimabue Santa Trinita Madonna (1280–1290) Archived 15 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. A video discussion about the painting from smarthistory.khanacademy.org
Template:Cite NSRW
A New Look at Cimabue Exhibition at the Louvre, 22 January – 12 May 2025. Review

Template:Cimabue

[1] Template:Cite Merriam-Webster

[vas-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Giorgio Vasari. Lives of the Artists. Translated with an introduction and notes by J.C. and P Bondanella. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 1991, pp. 7–14. ISBN 978-0-19-953719-8.

[Clarke-3] Joseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 38.

[4] J. A. Crowe; G. B. Calvalcaselle (1975). A History of Painting in Italy; Umbria, Florence and Siena from the Second to the Sixteenth Century. 1. AMS Press. p. 202.

[5] "Cimabue". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 12 May 2019.

[6] Fred Kleiner (2008). Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History. 2. Cengage Learning EMEA. p. 502.

[Hayden_B.J._Maginnis_2004-7] 7.0 ^7.1 Hayden B.J. Maginnis (2004). "In Search of an Artist". In Anne Derbes; Mark Sandona (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Giotto. Cambridge. pp. 12–13.

[8] Paoletti, John T.; Radke, Gary M. (2005). Art in Renaissance Italy. Laurence King Publishing. p. 51.

[9] Van Vechten Brown, Alice; Rankin, William (1914). A Short History of Italian Painting. J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd.

[10] Brink, Joel (October 1978). "Carpentry and Symmetry in Cimabue's Santa Croce Crucifix". The Burlington Magazine. 120 (907).

[World-11] 11.0 ^11.1 Eimerl, Sarel (1967). The World of Giotto: c. 1267–1337. et al. Time-Life Books. pp. 82, 85. ISBN 0-900658-15-0.

[12] Maxwell, Virginia; Leviton, Alex; Pettersen, Leif (2010). Tuscany & Umbria. Lonely Planet. p. 364.

[13] Holly Flora (2006), Cimabue and Early Italian Devotional Painting (The Frick Collection).

[:1-14] 14.0 ^14.1 "Madonna Enthroned with the Child, St. Francis, St. Dominic, and two Angels attributed to Cimabue". Uffizi Galleries. Retrieved 2 March 2024.

[15] Havely, Nick (2004). Dante and the Franciscans: Poverty and the Papacy in the 'Commedia'. Cambridge University Press. p. 39.

[16] Brooke, Rosalind B. (2006). The Image of St. Francis: Responses to Sainthood in the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge University Press. p. 352.

[17] Paoletti, John T.; Radke, Gary M. (2005). Art in Renaissance Italy. Laurence King Publishing. p. 85.

[18] White, John (26 May 1993). Art and architecture in Italy 1250-1400 (3rd Revised ed.). Yale University Press. p. 175. ISBN 9707250208.

[19] Kleinhenz, Christopher (2004). Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 223–224.

[GV-20] 20.0 ^20.1 Vasari, Giorgio (1991). Lives of the Artists, 1550. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 13. ISBN 0-19-281754-X.

[21] Gibbs, Robert. "Cimabue". www.oxfordartonline.com. Retrieved 11 February 2017.

[:0-22] 22.0 ^22.1 Aligheri, Dante (2003). Purgatorio. Translated by Hollander, Jean; Hollander, Robert. New York: Anchor Books, Random House Inc. p. 245. ISBN 0-385-49700-8.

[23] Aligheri, Dante (2003). Purgatorio. Translated by Hollander, Jean; Hollander, Robert. New York: Anchor Books, Random House. pp. 236–237. ISBN 0-385-49700-8.

[24] "Masterpiece found in French kitchen fetches €24m". 27 October 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

[25] Belosi, Cimabue, 273-283.

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Cimabue: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 01:53, 30 May 2026

Contents

Life

Character

Legacy

In Dante's Divine Comedy

Market

List of works

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Navigation menu

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Italian artist (1240–1302)}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
+{{Infobox artist
+| name             = Cimabue
+| image            = CimabueSantaMariaNovella.jpg
+| caption          = [[Fresco]] portrait by [[Andrea di Bonaiuto]], {{circa|1366}}
+| image_size       = 250px
+| birth_name       = Giovanni Cenni di Pepo
+| birth_date       = {{c.|1240}}
+| death_date       = 1302
+| birth_place      = [[Florence]], Republic of Florence
+| death_place      = [[Pisa]], Republic of Pisa
+| nationality      =
+| notable_works    = ''[[Santa Trinita Maestà]]'', [[Maestà of Santa Maria dei Servi|''Maestà'' at Santa Maria dei Servi]], [[Crucifix (Cimabue, Santa Croce)|''Crucifix'' at Santa Croce]]
+}}
 [[File:Cimabue - Maestà di Santa Trinita - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Santa Trinita Maestà]]'', 1280–1285, [[Uffizi|Uffizi Gallery]], Florence]]
@@ Line 14: / Line 27: @@
 He was born in Florence and died in [[Pisa]]. Hayden Maginnis speculates that he could have trained in Florence under masters who were culturally connected to [[Byzantine art]]. The art historian [[Pietro Toesca]] attributed the ''[[Crucifix (Cimabue, Arezzo)|Crucifixion]]'' in the church of [[San Domenico, Arezzo|San Domenico]] in [[Arezzo]] to Cimabue, dating around 1270, making it the earliest known attributed work that departs from the Byzantine style.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Art in Renaissance Italy|last1=Paoletti|first1=John T.|last2=Radke|first2=Gary M.|publisher=Laurence King Publishing|year=2005|page=51}}</ref> Cimabue's Christ is bent, and the clothes have the golden striations that were introduced by [[Coppo di Marcovaldo]].
-Around 1272, Cimabue is documented as being present in [[Rome]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Short History of Italian Painting|last1=Van Vechten Brown|first1=Alice|last2=Rankin|first2=William|publisher=J.M. Dent & Sons, ltd.|year=1914|pages=41}}</ref> and a little later he made another ''[[Crucifix (Cimabue, Santa Croce)|Crucifix]]'' for the Florentine church of [[Santa Croce, Florence|Santa Croce]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Carpentry and Symmetry in Cimabue's Santa Croce Crucifix|last=Brink|first=Joel|date=October 1978|work=The Burlington Magazine|issue=907|volume=120}}</ref> Now restored, having been damaged by the [[1966 Arno River flood]], the work was larger and more advanced than the one in [[Arezzo]], with traces of naturalism perhaps inspired by the works of [[Nicola Pisano]].
+Around 1272, Cimabue is documented as being present in [[Rome]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Short History of Italian Painting|last1=Van Vechten Brown|first1=Alice|author1-link=Alice Van Vechten Brown|last2=Rankin|first2=William|publisher=J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd.|year=1914}}</ref> and a little later he made another ''[[Crucifix (Cimabue, Santa Croce)|Crucifix]]'' for the Florentine church of [[Santa Croce, Florence|Santa Croce]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Carpentry and Symmetry in Cimabue's Santa Croce Crucifix|last=Brink|first=Joel|date=October 1978|work=The Burlington Magazine|issue=907|volume=120}}</ref> Now restored, after having been damaged by the [[1966 Arno River flood]], the work was larger and more advanced than the one in [[Arezzo]], with traces of naturalism perhaps inspired by the works of [[Nicola Pisano]].
 According to Vasari, Cimabue, while travelling from Florence to Vespignano, came upon the 10-year-old Giotto (c. 1277) drawing his sheep with a rough rock upon a smooth stone. He asked if Giotto would like to come and stay with him, which the child accepted with his father's permission.<ref name=World/> Vasari elaborates that during Giotto's apprenticeship, he allegedly painted a fly on the nose of a portrait Cimabue was working on; the teacher attempted to sweep the fly away several times before he understood his pupil's prank.<ref name=World>{{cite book |last=Eimerl |first=Sarel |others=et al |title=The World of Giotto: c. 1267–1337 |url=https://archive.org/details/worldofgiottoc100eime |url-access=registration |publisher=Time-Life Books |year=1967 |isbn=0-900658-15-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/worldofgiottoc100eime/page/82 82], 85}}</ref> Many scholars now discount Vasari's claim that he took Giotto as his pupil, citing earlier sources that suggest otherwise.<ref name="Hayden B.J. Maginnis 2004"/>
@@ Line 36: / Line 49: @@
 According to Vasari, quoting a contemporary of Cimabue, "Cimabue of Florence was a painter who lived during the author's own time, a nobler man than anyone knew but he was as a result so haughty and proud that if someone pointed out to him any mistake or defect in his work, or if he had noted any himself ... he would immediately destroy the work, no matter how precious it might be."<ref name=GV>{{cite book|last=Vasari|first=Giorgio|title=Lives of the Artists, 1550|year=1991|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0-19-281754-X|page=[https://archive.org/details/livesofartists0000vasa/page/13 13]|url=https://archive.org/details/livesofartists0000vasa/page/13}}</ref>
-The nickname Cimabue translates as "bull-head" but also possibly as "one who crushes the views of others", from the Italian verb ''cimare'', meaning "to top", "to shear", and "to blunt". The conclusion for the second meaning is drawn from similar commentaries on Dante, who was also known "for being contemptuous of criticism".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T017771?q=cimabue&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1|title=Cimabue|last=Gibbs|first=Robert|publisher=www.oxfordartonline.com|access-date=11 February 2017}}</ref>
+The nickname Cimabue translates as "ox-head" but also possibly as "one who crushes the views of others", from the Italian verb ''cimare'', meaning "to top", "to shear", and "to blunt". The conclusion for the second meaning is drawn from similar commentaries on Dante, who was also known "for being contemptuous of criticism".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T017771?q=cimabue&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1|title=Cimabue|last=Gibbs|first=Robert|publisher=www.oxfordartonline.com|access-date=11 February 2017}}</ref>
 ==Legacy==
@@ Line 57: / Line 70: @@
 == List of works ==
-Around a dozen works are securely attributed to Cimabue, with several less secure attributions.  None are signed or dated.
+While none of Cimabue’s works are signed or securely dated, art historians have attributed several to him, with varying degrees of certainty. Many works in major collections have been erroneously attributed to Cimabue.<ref>Belosi, ''[[iarchive:cimabue0000bell/page/273/mode/1up|Cimabue]]'', 273-283.</ref>
+{| class="wikitable"
-* Crucifixes
+|+List of works attributed to Cimabue
-** [[Crucifix (Cimabue, Santa Croce)]], c. 1265, [[Basilica di Santa Croce]], Florence
+!Image
-** [[Crucifix (Cimabue, Arezzo)]], c. 1267–1271, [[San Domenico, Arezzo|Basilica of San Domenico]], Arezzo
+!Title
-* Frescos  c. 1277–1280 in the [[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi]], Assisi
+!Medium
-** ''[[Nativity and Betrothal of the Virgin]]''
+!Location
-** Choir, central vault, right transept
+|-
-* Three surviving panels (of eight) from the [[Diptych of devotion (Cimabue)|''Diptych of devotion'']], c.1280
+|[[File:Cimabue 027.jpg|frameless|140x140px]]
-** ''[[The Mocking of Christ (Cimabue)|The Mocking of Christ]]'', [[Musée du Louvre]], Paris
+|''[[Crucifix (Cimabue, Arezzo)|Crucifix]]''
-** ''[[Virgin and Child with Two Angels (Cimabue)|Virgin and Child with Two Angels]]'', [[National Gallery]], London
+|Tempera and gold on wood
-** [[The Flagellation of Christ (Cimabue)|''The Flagellation of Christ'']], [[Frick Collection]], New York
+|[[San Domenico, Arezzo]]
-* [[Maestà]] or [[Virgin and Child|Virgin and Child Enthroned]]
+|-
-** ''[[Maestà (Cimabue)|Maestà]],'' c. 1280, Pisa, now [[Louvre]]
+|[[File:Cimabue 025.jpg|frameless|132x132px]]
-** ''[[Maestà of Santa Maria dei Servi]],'' 1280–1285, [[Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi]], Bologna
+|''[[Crucifix (Cimabue, Santa Croce)|Crucifix]]''
-** ''[[Gualino Madonna]],'' 1280–1283, [[Galleria Sabauda]], Turin
+|Tempera and gold on wood
-** ?: ''[[Madonna di Castelfiorentino]],'' c. 1283–1284, {{ill|Museo di Santa Verdiana|it}}, [[Castelfiorentino]]
+|[[Santa Croce, Florence]]
-** ''[[Santa Trinita Maestà]],'' c. 1290–1300, [[Santa Trinita]], Florence, now [[Uffizi]], Florence
+|-
-* [[Mosaic ceiling of the Florence Baptistery|Mosaic ceiling]] at [[Florence Baptistery]], c. 1300
+|[[File:La Vierge et l'Enfant en majesté entourés de six anges - Cimabue - Musée du Louvre Peintures INV 254 ; MR 159.jpg|frameless|173x173px]]
-* Mosaic of ''[[Christ enthroned with the Virgin and St John]]'', [[Pisa Cathedral]], 1301–1302
+|''[[Maestà (Cimabue)|Maestà]]''
+|Tempera and gold on wood
-==Gallery==
+|[[Louvre]]
-<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
+|-
-File:CrocifissoCimabue-Arezzo-Photo taken by Senet. April 20, 2010-Perspective correction, crop and blackframe with GIMP by Paolo Villa 2019.jpg|''[[Crucifix (Cimabue, Arezzo)|Crucifix]]'' (c. 1267–1271), [[San Domenico, Arezzo|San Domenico]], Arezzo
+|[[File:Cimabue, The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Angels.jpg|frameless|144x144px]]
-File:La Vierge et l'Enfant en majesté entourés de six anges - Cimabue - Musée du Louvre Peintures INV 254 ; MR 159.jpg|''[[Maestà (Cimabue)|Maestà]]'' (c. 1280), [[Louvre]], Paris
+|[[Virgin and Child with Two Angels (Cimabue)|''Virgin and Child with Two Angels'']]
-File:Cimabue Diptych Overview FR.svg|Hypothetical reconstruction of the Diptych
+|Tempera and gold on wood
-File:Cimabue, The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Two Angels.jpg|''[[Virgin and Child with Two Angels (Cimabue)|Virgin and Child with Two Angels]]'' (c. 1280), [[National Gallery]], London
+|[[National Gallery|National Gallery, London]]
-File:Cimabue Christ Mocked.jpg|''[[The Mocking of Christ (Cimabue)]]'' (c. 1280), sold at auction for €24m in 2019
+|-
-File:Cimabue - Flagellation.jpg|''[[The Flagellation of Christ (Cimabue)|The Flagellation of Christ]]'' (c. 1280), [[Frick Collection]], New York
+|[[File:La Dérision du Christ - Cimabue - Musée du Louvre Peintures RFML.PE.2023.33.1 - après restauration.jpg|frameless|146x146px]]
-File:Santa Maria dei Servi, bo, interno, maestà di cimabue 01.JPG|Attributed to Cimabue, ''[[Maestà of Santa Maria dei Servi|Maestà]]'' (c. 1280–1285), [[Santa Maria dei Servi, Bologna|Santa Maria dei Servi]], Bologna
+|''[[The Mocking of Christ (Cimabue)|The Mocking of Christ]]''
-File:Cimabue madonna castefliorentino.jpg|''[[Castelfiorentino Madonna]]'' (c. 1283–1284), Museo di Santa Verdiana, [[Castelfiorentino]]
+|Tempera and gold on wood
-File:Cerchia di cimabue o artista senese, ultima cena di new orleans 01.jpg|''The Last Supper''
+|[[Louvre]]
-File:Cimabue - Madonna Enthroned with the Child, St Francis and four Angels (detail) - WGA04921.jpg|''Madonna Enthroned with the Child, St Francis and four Angels'' (detail)
+|-
-File:Cimabue 037.jpg|''[[Maestà of Santa Trinita]]'', (detail) ''Prophet''
+|[[File:Cimabue - Flagellation.jpg|frameless|145x145px]]
-File:Cimabue - Crucifix (detail) - WGA04929.jpg|Detail of the ''[[Crucifix (Cimabue, Santa Croce)|Santa Croce Crucifix]]'' showing Apostle John
+|''[[The Flagellation of Christ (Cimabue)|The Flagellation of Christ]]''
-File:Cimabue 001.jpg|Detail of mosaic ''[[Christ enthroned with the Virgin and St John]]'' showing St. John the Evangelist
+|Tempera and gold on wood
-</gallery>
+|[[Frick Collection]]
+|-
+|[[File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie del battista, 1250-1330 ca., 02 nascita e imposizione del nome, attr. a cimabue.JPG|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''The Naming of John the Baptist''
+|Mosaic
+|[[Florence Baptistery]]
+|-
+|[[File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie del battista, 1250-1330 ca., 03 san giovannino nel deserto, attr. a cimabue con ampi restauri.JPG|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''John the Baptist Entering the Wilderness''
+|Mosaic
+|[[Florence Baptistery]]
+|-
+|[[File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie della genesi 1250-1330 ca., 04 peccato originale, attr. a gaddo gaddi.JPG|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Original Sin''
+|Mosaic
+|[[Florence Baptistery]]
+|-
+|[[File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie della genesi 1250-1330 ca., 05 rimpovero di dio, attr. a gaddo gaddi, con restauri.JPG|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Reproach of God''
+|Mosaic
+|[[Florence Baptistery]]
+|-
+|[[File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie della genesi 1250-1330 ca., 06 cacciata dal paradiso terrestre, attr. a gaddo gaddi, con restauri.JPG|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Expulsion from the Garden of Eden''
+|Mosaic
+|[[Florence Baptistery]]
+|-
+|[[File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie di giuseppe, 1250-1330 ca., 03 giuseppe racconta i sogni ai fratelli, ambito di coppo.JPG|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Joseph Sold by His Brothers into Slavery''
+|Mosaic
+|[[Florence Baptistery]]
+|-
+|[[File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie di giuseppe, 1250-1330 ca., 05 fratelli mostrano la veste insanguinata di giuseppe al padre, attr. al maestro della maddalena.JPG|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Joseph's Parents Mourn His Loss''
+|Mosaic
+|[[Florence Baptistery]]
+|-
+|[[File:Mosaici del battistero di firenze, storie di giuseppe, 1250-1330 ca., 06 viaggio di giuseppe in egitto, attr. al maestro della maddalena.JPG|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Joseph Goes into Egypt''
+|Mosaic
+|[[Florence Baptistery]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, maestà di santa maria dei servi.jpg|frameless|202x202px]]
+|''[[Maestà of Santa Maria dei Servi|Maestà]]''
+|Tempera and gold on wood
+|[[Santa Maria dei Servi, Bologna]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, madonna di castelfiorentino, 1285 ca. 01.JPG|frameless|166x166px]]
+|''[[Castelfiorentino Madonna]]''
+|Tempera and gold on wood
+|[[Museo di Santa Verdiana]], [[Castelfiorentino]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue - Madonna and Child, Angels and St. Francis - after resoration 2023.4.jpg|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Virgin and Child with Angels and St. Francis''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Lower Basilica|Lower Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, loggette con angeli 09.jpg|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Angels'' (now lost)
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, trapasso di maria.jpg|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''The Death of the Virgin''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, dormitio.jpg|frameless|115x115px]]
+|Dormition of the Virgin
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, assunzione di maria 2.jpg|frameless|117x117px]]
+|Assumption of the Virgin
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, cristo e maria in gloria.jpg|frameless|117x117px]]
+|''Christ and the Virgin Enthroned''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, crocifissione del transetto sinistro.jpg|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Cruxifiction'' (left)
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, crocifissione del transetto destro.jpg|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Cruxifiction'' (right)
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, visione di san giovanni a patmos.jpg|frameless|123x123px]]
+|''Vision of St. John on Patmos''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, angeli ai quattro canti della terra.jpg|frameless|132x132px]]
+|''Angels at the Four Corners of the Earth''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, visione del trono.jpg|frameless|133x133px]]
+|''Vision of the Golden Throne''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, caduta di babilonia.jpg|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''Fall of Babylon''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, san michele e il drago.jpg|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''St. Michael and the Dragon'' (now lost)
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, cristo apocalittico.jpg|frameless|128x128px]]
+|''Apocalyptical Christ''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, caduta di simon mago.jpg|frameless|127x127px]]
+|''The Fall of Simon Magnus''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, crocifissione di pietro.jpg|frameless|123x123px]]
+|''Martyrdom of St. Peter''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, martirio di san paolo.jpg|frameless|135x135px]]
+|''Martyrdom of St. Paul''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, pietro guarisce uno storpio.jpg|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''St. Paul Healing the Crippled Man''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, miracoli di san pietro.jpg|frameless|132x132px]]
+|''St. Paul Expelling Demons''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue, volta evangelisti 00.jpg|frameless|115x115px]]
+|''The Four Evangelists''
+|Fresco
+|[[Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi#Upper Basilica|Upper Basilica, Saint Francis of Assisi]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue Trinita Madonna.jpg|frameless|202x202px]]
+|''[[Santa Trinita Maestà]]''
+|Tempera and gold on wood
+|[[Uffizi|Uffizi, Florence]]
+|-
+|[[File:Cimabue 001.jpg|frameless|170x170px]]
+|''St. John'' (detail of apse mosaic)
+|Mosaic
+|[[Pisa Cathedral]]
+|}
 ==References==
@@ Line 107: / Line 281: @@
   | year = 2001
   | location = Boulder, Colorado
- | pages = 420
+  | isbn = 0-8133-3690-2
- | isbn = 0-8133-3690-2
   }}
-*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Cimabue, Giovanni|volume=6|first=William Michael|last=Rossetti|author-link= William Michael Rossetti |page= 366-367|short=1}}
+*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Cimabue, Giovanni|volume=6|first=William Michael|last=Rossetti|author-link= William Michael Rossetti |pages= 366-367|short=1}}
 *{{cite book
   | author1 = Vasari, Giorgio
@@ Line 134: / Line 307: @@
 * [http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/cimabue-santa-trinita-madonna.html Cimabue ''Santa Trinita Madonna'' (1280–1290)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015150415/http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/cimabue-santa-trinita-madonna.html |date=15 October 2014 }}. A video discussion about the painting from smarthistory.khanacademy.org
 * {{Cite NSRW|short=x|wstitle=Cimabue, Giovanni}}
+* [https://www.louvre.fr/en/exhibitions-and-events/exhibitions/a-new-look-at-cimabue A New Look at Cimabue] Exhibition at the [[Louvre]], 22 January – 12 May 2025. [https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/fine-art/a-new-look-at-cimabue-at-the-origins-of-italian-painting-review-a-pivotal-pre-renaissance-painter-7651f173?mod=article_inline Review]
 {{Cimabue}}

Cimabue: Difference between revisions

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