Lecture 10: The Black Death and the International Style
of Giotto was cancelled out as if it had never existed. Gone are the narrative
pleasure of Duccio, the clash of Simone Martini’s colors and the civic pride
embodied in his Guidoriccio, and the embracing of the contemporary world
in Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Effects of Good Government. These are replaced
by a severe art that emphasized guilt and the need to repent and in which
mysticism and the authority of the Church offered hope.Let’s look at some other works from this dif¿ cult period. Our next example
shows Andrea Orcagna’s Enthroned Christ with Madonna and Saints
(1354–1357). This is the ¿ rst altarpiece with a full-length, adult Christ in
the central ¿ eld of the painting in either Florentine or Sienese painting. This
severe depiction represents a Christ who grants authority—to St. Peter at
right—and disseminates theological doctrine—to St. Thomas Aquinas at left.
An excellent demonstration of the changes that occurred in art can be found
in a comparison between Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Presentation in the Temple
(c. 1342), which we examined in the last lecture, and Bartolo di Fredi’s
Presentation in the Temple (c. 1353). Here is an astonishing transformation,
or regression, of style in just 11 years.We also see drastic changes by comparing two more works with the same
subject. Luca di Tommè’s Raising of Lazarus (c. 1360) shows densely
packed ¿ gures, leaving no room for more than a stylized landscape at the
top. St. Peter’s placement next to Jesus suggests that the painting may
have been commissioned by the Vatican. Christ’s elongated arm stretches
halfway across the painting to Lazarus, and the straight band running from
Christ’s mouth must have held the words recorded in the Gospel of St. John,
“Lazarus, come forth.” Compare this to Giotto’s earlier Raising of Lazarus
(c. 1305–1307, Arena Chapel). Tommè’s version doesn’t have the human
quality, narrative complexity, or nuance of Giotto’s interpretation. This has
been abandoned for a certain severity; we are to regard the miracle in a
strictly theological way, rather than in narrative terms.Another comparison involves different Pietàs. Giovanni da Milano’s Pietà
(c. 1365) presents Christ supported by the Madonna and St. Mary Magdalene,
with another saint behind them. The German Pietà (c. 1300), which we
saw in Lecture Five, has a Nordic intensity. In a kind of compulsory act,