Giotto’s painting of St. John the Evangelist, created between c.1320 and c.1325, is a tempera panel located at the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris, France. Measuring 80 x 55 cm, this work is an example of proto-Renaissance painting that marked a turning point in Western art history.
The painting’s composition is carefully crafted to draw the viewer’s attention to St. John through Giotto’s use of color and light. The figure’s distinctive features are depicted with meticulous attention to detail, from his flowing robes to his nimbus halo.
Giotto was a pivotal figure in the development of Renaissance art as he combined techniques from antiquity with contemporary ideas about humanism in art. His masterwork was the decoration of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua that has been recognized as one of Early Renaissance’s greatest achievements.
