GIOTTO di Bondone
(b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze)

No. 15 Annunciation: The Virgin Receiving the Message

1306
Fresco, 150 x 195 cm
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

In a magnificent way, Giotto here combines the real architecture of the church interior with feigned, painted architectural elements to create a meaningful unity. To the right and left of the arch, the angel and Mary kneel in their respective buildings. It is only through the connecting architecture that tension is maintained within the depiction of the Annunciation, even over this great, daring distance and separation of figures, and that God the Father — at the top of the triumphal arch — is also included in the action. As far as form and content were concerned, Giotto was even here entering new territory.