Cimabue
Italian painter who broke from Byzantine style, teacher of Giotto (disputed).
Giovanni Cimabue (c. 1240 – 1302), also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian painter and designer of mosaics from Florence. He is generally regarded as one of the first great Italian painters to break from the Italo-Byzantine style, though heavily influenced by Byzantine models. His works show more lifelike figural proportions and sophisticated shading compared with medieval art norms.
- born
- c. 1240
- died
- 1302
- field
- Painting, mosaic design
- nationality
- Italian (Florentine)
- known_for
- Breaking from Italo-Byzantine style; teacher of Giotto (disputed)
Lore & Background
Little is known about Cimabue's early life. He was born in Florence and died in Pisa. Art historian Pietro Toesca attributed the Crucifixion in San Domenico, Arezzo (c. 1270) to Cimabue, making it the earliest known attributed work departing from Byzantine style. Around 1272 he was in Rome, and later made a Crucifix for Santa Croce in Florence, damaged in the 1966 Arno flood. According to Vasari, Cimabue discovered the 10-year-old Giotto drawing sheep and took him as pupil, but many scholars now discount this claim.
Around 1280 he painted the Maestà for San Francesco at Pisa (now Louvre), establishing a style followed by Duccio and Giotto. He worked in Assisi under Pope Nicholas IV, creating frescoes in the Lower and Upper Basilicas, though authorship of some works is disputed. His Maestà of Santa Trinita (c. 1290–1300) shows softer expressions possibly influenced by Giotto. In 1301–1302 he was in Pisa to finish a mosaic of Christ Enthroned, including the surviving part depicting St John the Evangelist. He died around 1302.
Reader's Guide
Cimabue is historically regarded as the last great painter of the Italo-Byzantine tradition and a bridge to the Italian Proto-Renaissance. Vasari called him 'the principal cause of the renewal of painting,' though he noted Giotto eclipsed his fame. Dante's Divine Comedy (Purgatorio, Canto XI) laments how quickly public interest shifted from Cimabue to Giotto, using the artist to illustrate the fleeting nature of fame. Many works once attributed to Cimabue are now disputed, and none are signed or securely dated. His legacy includes influencing Duccio and Giotto, though his role as Giotto's teacher is questioned by modern scholars. In 2019, his painting The Mocking of Christ sold for €24 million, a record for a medieval painting. Cimabue's nickname may mean 'ox-head' or 'one who crushes the views of others,' reflecting a haughty character described by Vasari.
Did You Know?
- Cimabue's nickname may translate as 'ox-head' or 'one who crushes the views of others.'
- His earliest known attributed work is the Crucifixion in San Domenico, Arezzo, dating around 1270.
- The Mocking of Christ sold for €24 million in 2019, a world record for a medieval painting.
- Vasari claimed Cimabue was Giotto's teacher, but many scholars now discount this.
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