The fresco decorations in the Arena Chapel at Padua
have long been considered the greatest of Giotto's works,
and one of the major turning points in the history of
European painting. He was probably about forty years old
when he began work on the chapel.
His Paduan patron, Enrico Scrovegni, was a wealthy,
politically ambitious merchant who in 1300 had acquired
the ruins of the old Roman arena at Padua as a site for
his palace and adjoining chapel. Although existing  documents are
somewhat vague on the subject, it seems that the chapel
was built and consecrated between 1303 and 1305. The date
of the frescoes is not certain and is variously placed
between 1304 to 1312/13, although a date of about 1305
would appear to be the most acceptable.
Owing to the small size of the chapel, fit by six
windows on the right wall, Giotto had at his disposal a
wall-space that was both restricted and asymmetrical. In
order to carry out the extensive iconographical scheme,
he took as his point of departure the areas between the
windows, planning to depict in each of these two scenes
one above the other. Using this as the basic unit of
measure, he divided up the walls of the chapel into
panels of a special arrangement. The stories narrated by
the frescoes (Scenes from the Life of Joachim, Scenes
from the Life of the Virgin and Scenes from the Life of
Christ) are fitted into this arrangement. The location of
the frescoes (with the exception of Last Judgement) in
the chapel is shown on a schematic map. A significant
innovation is the dado painted to imitate veined marble,
and topped by a slightly projecting cornice, which is
supported by a row of tiny consoles. Between the panels
of mock marble are small monochrome frescoes imitating
sculptural reliefs, the Seven Virtues and the Seven
Vices. These were also shown on Giotto's Campanile in
Florence. The feigned monochrome reliefs gave rise to a
kind of fresco decoration that was to flourish in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
An illusionism even more daring than that at Assisi
is found in the frescoes flanking the chancel arch, just
above the dado. Instead of "stories", Giotto
painted two views of the interiors of what appear to be
sacristries or a choir, in perfect perspective. Because
the chapel is relatively small, and the right hand wall
is interrupted by the windows, Giotto had to divide the
wall surface into smaller panels than those at Assisi
(the Paduan frescoes measure 200 x 185 cm, those at
Assisi 270 x 230 cm). This explains the different
relation in size of the figures to the panels and to the
space that encloses them, since the figures in a fresco
had to be as close as possible to lifesize. It is also
one of the reasons the Paduan frescoes acquired that
extraordinary concentration and pictorial unity so
appreciated today, and a possible explanation for the
unusually stocky proportions of the figures. Compared
with the Assisi frescoes, the painting has become softer;
the softer modelling gives the figures and objects an
amplified volume. All harshness has been eliminated. The
figures' gestures maintain an equilibrium between the
"gravitas" of the antique and the gracefulness
of French Gothic art. The narrative tone is solemn and
elevated, yet relaxed and serene. The most important and
most dignified figures have a majestic air, an expression
of conviction, and a profound, concentrated gaze, yet
they are warm and reassuringly human.
However, the scenes are not made up exclusively of
prestigious characters; there is a supporting cast of
minor characters whose lesser dignity is invariably
emphasised by the expressiveness of their facial features
and lively attitudes (in addition to their style of
dress). We need only observe the faces of the servants
waiting to pour the wine in the Marriage at Cana, or of
Christ's torturers in the scenes of the Passion which are
close to caricatures; or the smiles of St Anne's
companions in the Meeting at the Golden Gate, or the
bustling mid-wives in the Birth of the Virgin. This more
prosaic tone characterizes the personifications of the
Virtues and Vices, in which the more mundane atmosphere
is accentuated by the use of contemporary dress. In this
respect the Virtues and Vices bear the same relation to
the other frescoes in the chapel as the Legend of St
Francis does to the frescoes on the upper walls of the
Upper Church. It is not mere coincidence that the extent
of Giotto's intervention in the Virtues and Vices has
also been the subject of controversy, while the sublime
tone of the stories of Mary and Christ has often led
critics to overlook the weakness of certain parts, such
as some of the marginal figures in the frescoes in the
upper tiers
(for instance, the three figures on the far right and the
shepherd on the left in the Meeting at the Golden Gate,
clearly executed by his less skilful assistants). The
entrance wall is filled by the imposing Last Judgement.
This scene is as complex and crowded as the frescoes on
the side walls are concentrated and reduced to
essentials, and does not give the impression of order and
balance of the others. After the ninth and tenth
centuries the depiction of the final judgment, based on
the Book of Revelation, complete with trumpet-playing
angels, became one of the important themes of European
painters, and such works were often displayed on the
western wall of the churches, facing the apsis. In the
style of the Gothic period, Christ as the judge of the
world became the central figure in these paintings. This
is demonstrated in this excellent Giotto creation.
 
Last
updated on: 02/13/99
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