The Arena Chapel in Padua was completed in 1303; Giotto, then
considered the preeminent painter in Italy, was commissioned to paint it
in 1306. The resulting fresco cycle, detailing the history, birth, life,
and death of Christ, ranks among the greatest artworks ever created.
John Ruskin helped redefine art criticism in the nineteenth century
through his attention to detail, his playful and engaging prose, and the
conviction with which he discussed the subjects that mattered most to
him. Ruskin's ekphrastic writing became a way for readers to approach
the experience of looking at great art without actually seeing it in
person. Despite having written about Giotto on numerous occasions in
Stones of Venice and Modern Painters, he never treated the Arena
Chapel in its own right. Here Ruskin examines the panels and brings them
life, describing their many hidden details, all the result of Giotto's
unrivaled genius. As Ruskin says, "Giotto was...one of the greatest men
who ever lived."
Long out of print, the Arundel Society first published Giotto and His
Works in Padua between 1853 and 1860. It stands as Ruskin's most
compelling set of reflections on Giotto's masterpiece--an artwork that,
in Ruskin's estimation, changed the very course of art history.
Originally accompanied by a set of black and white woodcuts of the
panels in the Chapel, this new edition presents each panel in vivid
color photography, adding a useful visual aid to Ruskin's lyrical
descriptions. The result is a book that serves not only as an
introduction for students of art history, but also as a discussion of
what it means to be a great artist, by one of most influential writers
ever to tackle visual art.
