When I Paint My Masterpiece: Giotto’s Last Judgement and its Twelfth Century Cultural Foundations

Abstract

Covering the back wall of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy, Giotto di Bondone’s Last Judgement (1306) serves as a comprehensive benchmark for the transition between medieval and renaissance art. Quickly becoming one of his most definitive works, the fresco exhibits techniques taken from some of the earliest medieval and late Byzantine works of religious art while still proving to be a brilliant display of the artist’s unique style. This research paper first explores Giotto’s artistic influences, focusing on three specific iterations of the Last Judgement in France and asserting that they all had a direct impact on Giotto’s later work in the Scrovegni Chapel. After drawing connections between these medieval Last Judgements and the Scrovegni Chapel fresco, this paper also asserts that Giotto’s Last Judgement presents one of the first instances of true individuality in European art. Drawing from other contemporary works of art and literature in the early renaissance, Giotto’s unrivaled artistic signature proves to be just as pronounced as his affinity for his medieval predecessors.