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Cimabue

Type Figure Region Europe Time c. 1240–1302 Also known as Cimabue、Cenni di Pepo、Bencivieni di Pepo、奇马布埃

Cimabue (c. 1240–1302), a 13th-century Florentine painter seen as key to the transition from Byzantine painting to the Italian Renaissance, known for…

Timeline

  1. c. 1240–1290Florence · FlorenceCimabue was active in Florence and throughout Tuscany, painting large religious works for Santa Croce, Santa Trinita, and other churches. Dante mentions him and Giotto in the Purgatorio of the Divine Comedy, suggesting his renown in literary and artistic circles. His works introduced greater volume and individuality atop Byzantine conventions, later seen as a bridge from the 'Greek manner' to a native Italian style.
  2. 1291–1300Assisi · UmbriaIn the 1290s Cimabue led his workshop in the fresco program of the Upper Church of San Francesco at Assisi, traditionally credited as principal creator of some sections. Around the same time he discovered and trained the young Giotto in Florence; according to Vasari, Giotto's drawing of a sheep won Cimabue's admiration and he was taken as a pupil. Their collaboration and rivalry became an important narrative in Renaissance art history.
  3. 1301–1302Pisa · PisaIn his later years Cimabue went to Pisa Cathedral to work on mosaics including the head of St. John. Dante summarized their shifting artistic standing in the Divine Comedy: 'Cimabue thought to hold the field alone, until Giotto came.' He died around 1302, marking the end of an era of the 13th-century Florentine school.

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