Giotto was painter in history, miniature, portrait, and in mosaic ; also a sculptor and an architect : the celebrated Campanile of Florence is his work. He painted in many cities of Italy, but his chief works are those in the lower and upper churches of San Francesco at Assisi. In these paintings there are heads worthy in expression of the greatest masters that have succeeded him ; yet, notwithstanding his great merits, his design is extremely hard and Gothic, especially in his large figures : be paid also little attention to perspective or to chiaroscuro ; and although he brought painting far from its infancy, he still left it upon the whole as far from its maturity.
The scholars and imitators of Giotto were very numerous: the prin cipal of them were Stefano Fiorentino, Tounnaso di Stefano, called Giottino, and Taddeo Gaddi, the son of Caddo Gaddi. These painters worked in the same style as Giotto, sometimes inferior and sometimes superior in execution. Stefano was called the ape of nature, " Scimia della Nature." Testae° Gaddi, says Vasari, excelled Giotto in colouring and in tone : his principal works were painted in the church of Santa Croce ; and in the chapel Degli Spagnuoli, in the church of Santa Maria Novella. The pictures of the three saints seated, iu this chapel, aro magnificent in the character of the heads and in the style of the draperies : they represent San Dionysio Areopagita, San Pietro Lom bardo, and San Severino Boczio : they are engraved in Laatri'a Etruria Pittrice.' Contemporary with Giotto was Ittionandeo di Cristofano, called Buffelinacco, the scholar of Andrea Tafi ; and Bernardo and Andrea Orcagna, who painted together a heaven and a hell in the Struzzi chapel in the church of Santa Maria Novella; and in the Campo Santo at Pisa, Andrea painted a Last Judgment, and Bernardo a Ilell. In the church of Santa Croce also Andrea painted similar scenes : amongst the blessed he placed his friends, and amongst the damned his enemies. The best preserved works of Buffalmacco are at the Campo Santo at Pisa.
Two celebrated scholars of Andrea Orcagna were Bernardo Nello of Pisa and Francesco Traini of Florence : of the latter there is a cele brated picture of Thomas Aquinas at Santa Caterina at Pisa.
Contemporary also with Giotto was the famous Simone Metnini di Martino of Siena, celebrated by Tetrarch in two of his sonnets for a portrait of Laura. Simone was born about 1284, and after distin guishing himself by many works in various cities in Italy, he went to Avignon, where he died in 1344. He excelled in composition and in invention. Vasari speaks very highly of his great works in the chapel Degli Spaguoli, in the church of Santa Maria Novella at Florence, which was painted in 1332. Christ going to Calvary, which is one of the paintings of this chapel, is a work of great merit in expression, in composition, and in design. (Lastri,' Etruria 1'ittrice.') There is in the Arnbroaian Library at Milan, a MS. of Virgil with the commentary of Senius, which belonged to Tetrarch ; and on the frontispiece is a miniature of Virgil writing, with various characteristic accessories, by 3Iemmi : it is supposed to have been painted for Tetrarch, and that the poet wrote the following lines attached to it :— "Mantua Virgillum qut talta carmina tinxit ; Sena tulit Simonem digito qut talia pinzit."
Shortly after the death of Giotto, in 1336, painters commenced to be extremely numerous in Tuscany. In the year 1399 the painters of Florence formed themselves into a society under the name of Com pagnia di San Luca (Company of St. Luke). This society was not however composed exclusively of painters : it contained various artiste in metal and in wood, in whose business ornamental design was in any way concerned. A similar institution, but on a greater and more per mitnent plan, was established at Siena in 1355.
Other distinguished painters of this period were—at Siena, Lippe Cecco di Martino, Anibrogio Lorenzetti, and Bernardo or Berne da Siena. At Florence were Giovanni and Angelo Gaddi, the sons of Taddeo Gaddl. Angelo Gaddi was an excellent colourist ; but be was content to imitate the works of Giotto and of his father. Ilia scholar Ceunino Cennini was also a good colourist. The following also are deserving of mention: Stamina, Dello Fiorentino, Jacopo di Casen tine, Spinello Aretino and his eon I'ari Spinelli, Lorenzo di Bicci and his son Neri, also Giovanni di Niccolo of Pisa, who all painted more or less in the style of Giotto, as did likes-rise all the artiste of Tuscany, until a better taste was spread by the works of Masaccio.
In the 15th century, when the Medici established themselves as the rulers of Florence, and that city gradually extended its power over the neighbouring territories, and became the capital of Tuscany in matters of art as well as of state, the arta were in a manner rendered dependent upon the caprices or tastes of its princes ; and as the Florentine artists, through extended patronage, gradually evinced more activity, and acquired as a body a greater importance, those of Siena and Pisa proportionahl7 declined in both respects. The improvements mado in painting at this period were very great, and one of the most essential was the commencement of a proper application of perspective: the chief promoters of this science were Pietro delta Francesca and Paolo Uccello ; the latter comparatively neglected every other depart ment of (minting for the study of perspective. There is in the first cloister of Santa Maria Novella a picture of the Drunkenness of Noah, by Uccollo, in which he has displayed his ability in this respect : Noah is violently and well foreahortened. Another department of painting which had been neglected by the wheel of Giotto was chisroecuro. This was first attempted with success by Masolino da Paincele, who executed some excellent works, for the period, in the chapel of San I'ietro in the church del Carmine. Masolino is also not leas diatin giddied for having been the master of the celebrated Masaccio, who, if any individual ie entitled to this distinction, can alone be styled the father of modern painting.