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Who was Cimabue? (1240-1302, Cenni di Peppi,) Giovanni Cimabue was a church mural painter/mosaicist born in the city of Florence, Italy, in the year 1240. He gained reknown for breaking away from the crude, stiff, two-dimensional and mediocre Byzantine style.

Historical context: Born just 14 years after Thomas Aquinas, Cimabue appeared at the dawn of the Renaissance. His art accentuated and brought to light the history of the church by liberating the artist's media from the flatness of traditional Byzantine, icon painting. Visual images were vital during this time period because they served as a teaching tool in the face of nearly universal illiteracy. Dante, a contemporary of Cimabue, wrote an epitaph in the Divine Comedy, in the eleventh Canto of the Purgatorio regarding Cimabue.

"Once Cimabue thought to hold the field In painting; Giotto's all the rage today;
The other's fame lies in the dust concealed."⁽¹⁾

Another commentator on Dante shed additional light on Cimabue's character about 10-12 years after Dante's death in 1334.

"Cimabue was a Florentine painter who lived at the time of the poet; he had an outstanding ability, but was arrogant and disdainful that if anyone remarked any fault or defect in his work or if he had noticed any himself (for, as often happens, an artist can make a mistake because of some defect in his materials or some inadequacy in the instruments he is using) he immediately rejected it, no matter how precious it might be."

Summary of Cimabue's works and influence: In his day, Cimabue was well known as the forerunner of the naturalistic style. However his memory has been obscured by Giotto, his disciple/student who obtained more notoriety for his paintings than Cimabue. Giotto was known to have lived in his master's house in the Via del Cocomero after Cimabue died. Not many know about Cimabue, but he is very important to the genesis of western painting, having led the way to an inspiring realism.

Byzantine formalism had been handed down year after year and was followed blindly by painters who gave scarcely a thought to innovation. The Byzantine style was linear, with a heavy outlining shape. In contrast, Cimabue painted with a conscious effort toward naturalism and realism, thus according to Vasari, taking painting from a simple mechanical craft to a much higher level of skill and beauty. Cimabue's style was softer in contrast to the starkness of Byzantine art. One of his well-known Florentine paintings, The Madonna Enthroned (1280-1290), illustrates his ground-breaking approach. Compare especially the softness of clothing in Cimabue's work to that of Byzantine art. Follow these links for some of his best examples: Crucifix (1260), Virgin and Child, St. Luke, The Maesta, St. John, St. Francis.

Cimabue built a reputation within the church of his day and was commissioned to create many paintings in his lifetime. People were most impressed with his portrayal of dimension and detail in cloth, for example, the way drapery fell: a technique never attempted by the Byzantine artists.

Biblical Analysis: The Great Schism between the Western and Eastern branches of the church had occurred in 1054 over issues such as the procession of the Holy Spirit, The Western church rightly believed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. On the other hand, the Eastern Byzantine church believed that the Spirit proceeds from the Father only. Cimabue was influenced by the Western position.

Creating religious paintings of the Christ child or biblical scenes does not, of course, make one a Christian. For example, Cimabue believed in the Roman Catholic position regarding the veneration of Mary, which is evident in his paintings. Thus, we find that the theological beliefs of an artist may be reflected in his work. Although Cimabue may have been self-centered, vainglorious, and dependent on the praise of men, he was used of God to turn painting away from formalism to an emphasis on beauty, harmony and balance.

Corrective or prescriptive actions. In contrast to Humanism, which is the glorification of man, all artists must strive to glorify God in their work. Any trace of self exaltation betrays the artist's main purpose, i.e., fame and high esteem from man. Unfortunately, Cimabue's religious works apparently did not bring him closer to God; he reflects the Renaissance departure from God as the focal point of life toward man as his own god. However, the redeeming qualities of the period he represents show how God has graciously bestowed on man many gifts and abilities in spite of his sin. Cimabue led the way toward an emphasis on beauty and excellence in paintings that reflect God's image of beauty, goodness, and harmony. Sadly, many artists of the Renaissance focused on self as the source of these qualities instead of returning glory to God the giver of all good gifts.

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