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Giotto, Virtues and Vices: Injustice

elijah — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 20:12:46 +0000

Injustice is the only clearly identifiable male figure among the allegories, wearing a distinct facial hair. His eyes are covered — he is blind, and this feature is characteristic to all of the vices at one level or another. Despair is dead altogether and her eyes are closed or downcast, Anger directs her head straight up, with her eyes also closed. Idolatry appears completely blind, Inconstancy and Foolishness look away, and, finally, Envy’s vision is blocked by the symbolical snake. I think that Giotto had imagined the eyes and the gaze as the primary body part and language communicator of human beings; since humans here represent vices, the artist covers and obstructs the windows to the soul to convey the allegorical message of spiritual blindness. In a way, this set of allegories may be considered as a study in psychology, which slowly but surely pushes the religious context out.

Injustice

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I really like the head gear of the vices: they are much more stylish, original and unusual than those of the virtues. I suppose that by choice of fashion Giotto wished to comment on how inventive people can be in moral faltering, as opposed to the single straight road that leads to virtue. Originality extends further to carefully, with evident premeditation, conceptualized compositions. They are intentionally unbalanced, in a kind of stylization of bad painting practice — a subtle mockery of incompetence, a trace of irony which adds to the general atmosphere of denunciation. I think that that sort of sophistication is necessary when depicting the “bad guys,” as one cannot just dress them in a gown that says “I am evil” — though, these scenes indeed wear the sign. Still, the heartfelt naivete of the virtues transforms into a calculated design, a modification akin to that of resulting from the tasting from the tree of knowledge.

Anger

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The allegory of Injustice boasts probably the most complex composition when compared to others. There is the illusory architecture; the double hooked staff and the sword, and the man’s reliance on them; the miniature forest, implying darkness and impenetrability (referring, as Anne Mueller von der Haegen, the author of my book, claims, to the quality of judgment); ultimately, the scene shown at the lower edge is the opposite of the one in Justice (the men are lying, fighting and dismounted). All in all there are several layers that testify on the significance of the theme by their mere multitude. The results of injustice, unlike in other moral defects, directly affect those involved, and hence the wider scope in painterly representation. Simply put, the opposite of Justice requires as much attention from the artist and the viewer. The vices can prove straining to look at, and perhaps intentionally so, — but to give justice to Injustice, it is the most attractive of them all.

Giotto, Virtues and Vices: Justice

elijah — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:55:25 +0000

The appeal of Justice concentrates in the attributes and the ornamental additions, as if they try to steal all the charm from the sitting crowned figure. This process occurs on some level in other allegories as well, but in this one it reaches a notable scale — or a critical mass if you will. One reason for this shift seems to be that the attributes here consist of many miniature figures of living people, who interact and move, vying for the viewer’s attention. Since there is little variety in the facial expression, observers will naturally turn towards the fresh, previously unseen parts. The inclination towards seeking entertaining yet harmless and still relevant digressions may be a common factor, as looking at the fourteen figures may prove to be quite tiresome (as any museum frequenter will testify), but it seems particularly urgent in Faith, a rather dull looking sitter. In a way, the miniatures play the role of jewelry, attracting the eye to the otherwise insignificant owner.

Justice

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So what do we have here? First, there is the crown, the richest of all head gears; Charity is only caught in the process of reaching for one, humbler in design and appearance. The crown positions Justice as the most important of all virtues in the secular dealings of men and women; the illusionary regal architecture around her further emphasizes her exceptional status. The woman indeed sits like a queen: stately and intentionally immobile, faintly arrogant and almost inapproachable. She holds the notorious scales; punishment on one and clemency on the other — both are occupied with their respective activities, to which the condemned in front of them react accordingly (unfortunately the one in front of clemency was lost). The scales are almost even, with clemency pulling down just a little bit more; the imaginary line between the two accurately divides the scene into two halves, suggesting impartiality.

Injustice

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The scene below throne is so rich that it may include some of the other virtues. We see some growth, a possible hint at charity, and a woman holding a tambourine as if it were a mirror, an allusion on prudence (and knowledge). The men on horseback, who are probably warriors, imply fortitude. It is interesting to compare this scene with the one below Injustice — the exact opposite of the festive and lively atmosphere. I would also like to mention that in general, the vices appear more interesting… which may indicate on their adequate place in our lives. There is more tension, even more movement and drama in Giotto’s vices; though they exhibit much less balance and harmony, eventually these deviations make them more fascinating, even if somewhat disturbing images. To my mind, more thought had been invested in them, which may signify another humanistic feature: the search for and the research of psychological phenomena.

Giotto, Virtues and Vices: Faith

elijah — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:27:17 +0000

The episcopal shroud and the reflective facial expression immediately immerse the viewer into a serious, even grave context. This countenance adheres to medieval iconic standards more than any other in the whole group of fourteen allegories, and purposefully so. If there should be a face associating with an artistic religious norm of the icon, Faith would make the most natural candidate, as it brings along, by way of resemblance and familiarity, the thousands of similar expressions seen in the preceding works of art. Giotto amplifies the theme of faith by a simple acknowledgment, tribute and adherence, and, perhaps, because of that, Faith has a slight advantage over the other allegories. It summarizes and epitomizes, truly iconic, it draws meaning from as many threads as there are different icons. All of these make the accordance between the theme and its presentation fully realized and eventually perfect.

Faith

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The attributes the figure is carrying speak for themselves: the cross-staff is a self-evident symbol, whereas the scroll, seemingly in ancient Greek, is probably one of the Gospels. The key, the smallest of the objects, is more obscure, both visually and symbolically — probably signifying the “key” to the truth, or the Gospel of truth held in the left hand. Additionally, she stands on a few tablets with some unidentifiable (by me) letters, probably a text concerned with other religions. This seems like a violent act; I also think that the staff appears quite intimidating, as is the direct fixed gaze, and both hands, nearly clasped into fists. In light of these threats, the elegantly bent right leg somehow falls out compositionally, displaying a sign of lenience and gentleness. On the one hand, this might had been the artist’s way to reveal the churches force as tamed and controlled by mercy, but, on the other, he could have tried to expose hypocrisy — the church’s pretense of charity while being violent cruel.

Justice

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Strangely enough, the latter case is easier to accept, because at that time even the thought of church criticism was so improbable. Giotto could have simply exploited the weakness (or should I say the vice?) of self-satisfaction, complacency and eventually pride to subvert some of the most appalling dogmas that found their way into practice through the inquisition and the crusades. In a way, he can be considered as Michelangelo’s forerunner in this respect: the creator of David and the painter of the Last Judgment defied the church by depicting the nude human body; Giotto preceded him by portraying betraying movements. And this is another notable thing about the renaissance — artists begin to use their medium as a sphere for the expression of extraneous ideas, political and/or social. Art reaches beyond decoration to exert influence in other human activities; a slow humanistic upheaval takes place.

Giotto, Virtues and Vices: Charity

elijah — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 18:52:54 +0000

Wearing a garment identical to that of Hope, Charity also possesses a similar face, which, however, is not an exact replica. Nuances seep into Giotto di Bondone ’s art and will eventually spread out into the tremendous diversification of high renaissance and following art trends. The woman humbly smiles and bends slightly backwards, producing a set of graceful and plastic movements. She balances easily standing on a few sacks of grain or flour; her posture, though firmly stable is somewhat dance-like — she seems like a buxom peasant, yet not without a characteristic elegance. The basket symmetrically counters the image of God the father in an additional symbolical correlation of fertility and abundance with divinity. Her gaze and thoughts are directed towards the deity, as far away as possible from the supplies she carries and treads upon — an indication of readiness to part with them, give them away for free, or for a spiritual retribution.

Charity, circa 1305

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The act of receiving a fruit via divine intervention resembles the activity of picking, and I think not incidentally so. The artist wishes to allegorically converge the two, and to transfer the notion of God the provider, the same one that believers express in daily thanks and graces, and which has been numerously narrated in biblical text, to a visual form. Moreover, the figure engages in a process, of which we witness one act; she would place the fruit into the container and continue the toil. To sum up the idea visually, Giotto fills the basket with a variety of produce, as to imply that both trees and soil are only agents of divine assistance. There is a certain cheerfulness to her countenance: it brings to mind peasant festivities associated with crops and harvesting. Her hair appears to be adorned with some sort of vegetables (artichoke maybe), a clear sign of a country festival.

Faith

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I can’t think of any religious reasons why God emerges from the right upper corner (besides that he evidently must be above the human), so I’ll try to figure out the aesthetic and the artistic ones. The natural tendency of the viewer’s eye is to progress from left to right, from the center towards the loftier parts of the piece. That way, God would become the conclusion, the final compositional point in this scene. So, when we realize from the theme that everything begins with god (thesis), we can then deduce from the composition(antithesis) that everything ends with him, too (synthesis). Another interesting point to make is that it is unclear whether God hovers above the allegory or simply stands perpendicularly her (most probably the former, as the latter is possible to envision only due to technical inaccuracies). I think that when turned by ninety degrees, the scene retains its core concept as it is summarized in the eye contact between the two actors: both faces are easily observable and only the woman appears to be hanging by the container. But, perhaps, even that anomaly can be adequately interpreted.

Giotto, Virtues and Vices: Hope

elijah — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:43:15 +0000

I once had a hard time figuring out the meaning of the word “plasticity” when reading an essay about Donatello’s sculpture. I understood the encyclopedic meaning but couldn’t apply it purposefully to the image: it remained a sort of a mystery to me, and so has that entire crucial characteristic of the whole renaissance movement. But eventually Giotto kindly came to the rescue; just as some words light up with full meaning after you encounter them in a different book, I grasped “plasticity” when looking at Giotto’s virtues and vices painted on the walls of Capella degli Scrovegni, Padua. That they are essentially stone sculptures rendered in paint only emphasizes the link to Donatello’s plasticity, and ultimately my own understanding of the term. And it comes to full light in these minimalistic by artistic necessity figures — there is little movement, but all of it epitomizes early renaissance plasticity.

Hope

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So what does the word mean? In a few words, clean, maximally economic movement(s) and an unmistakable presence ensuing from them — a stark break from the frozen medieval representations, towards livelier and corporeally conscious images. Giotto endowed his subjects not only with a heart, but with a whole set of human organs, the whole anatomical package. In a way, in this turning from tradition the artist can be described as a painterly iconoclast. Yet, he manages to keep in line with the form, as his virtues and vices are as symbolic as they can get, as each symbol is crowned with a telling title. But his icons begin to express feelings: a faint smile here, a smirk there; countenances evolve and consequently involve the viewers. The representation of Hope that we see above carries a spiritual sense, transpiring, nevertheless, from a poignantly humanly profile, a woman first, and a winged seraphic creature second.

Charity, circa 1305

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In fact, the wings may appear as a foreign body altogether and the image could be viewed as more sound without them. Simply a figure of a religiously inspired woman, albeit such an amputation would change the concept of the composition: she would appear falling rather than hovering, tending downwards instead of upwards — a complete, and hardly an acceptable turn. But that only accentuates the break and dismantling of medieval dogmatic spiritualism into several detachable ideas, which when reshuffled, can produce a completely different meaning. The physicality of Hope is striking considering the spiritual connotation, though there is a balance between them: the thighs and the legs are so clearly defined as to seem almost seductively naked, while the piously outstretched arms and the wings counter that display. I’ll discuss the edges and the corners (particularly the right upper one) as a separate notional space in future articles.

Art & Critique » Giotto

Giotto, Virtues and Vices: Injustice

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Giotto, Virtues and Vices: Justice

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