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Росписи, расположенные на стенах капеллы в 3 яруса, воссоздают в последовательном порядке историю жизни БР и Христа.
The fresco decorations in the Arena Chapel at Padua have long been considered the greatest of Giotto's works, and one of the major turning points in the history of European painting. He was probably about forty years old when he began work on the chapel.
His Paduan patron, Enrico Scrovegni, was a wealthy, politically ambitious merchant who in 1300 had acquired the ruins of the old Roman arena at Padua as a site for his palace and adjoining chapel. Although existing documents are somewhat vague on the subject, it seems that the chapel was built and consecrated between 1303 and 1305. The date of the frescoes is not certain and is variously placed between 1304 to 1312/13, although a date of about 1305 would appear to be the most acceptable.
Owing to the small size of the chapel, fit by six windows on the right wall, Giotto had at his disposal a wall-space that was both restricted and asymmetrical. In order to carry out the extensive iconographical scheme, he took as his point of departure the areas between the windows, planning to depict in each of these two scenes one above the other. Using this as the basic unit of measure, he divided up the walls of the chapel into panels.
The scenes on the walls are arranged in four tiers, and are surrounded by a framework that seems to form part of the architecture of the chapel. The scenes are separated vertically by wide, mock marble bands which are richly decorated with Cosmati work, and relieved by small, lobed panels containing representations of minor figures.
A significant innovation is the dado painted to imitate veined marble, and topped by a slightly projecting cornice, which is supported by a row of tiny consoles. Between the panels of mock marble are small monochrome frescoes imitating sculptural reliefs, the Seven Virtues and the Seven Vices. These were also shown on Giotto's Campanile in Florence. The feigned monochrome reliefs gave rise to a kind of fresco decoration that was to flourish in the 15th and 16th centuries.
An illusionism even more daring than that at Assisi is found in the frescoes flanking the chancel arch, just above the dado. Instead of "stories", Giotto painted two views of the interiors of what appear to be sacristries or a choir, in perfect perspective.
Because the chapel is relatively small, and the right hand wall is interrupted by the windows, Giotto had to divide the wall surface into smaller panels than those at Assisi (the Paduan frescoes measure 200 x 185 cm, those at Assisi 270 x 230 cm). This explains the different relation in size of the figures to the panels and to the space that encloses them, since the figures in a fresco had to be as close as possible to lifesize. It is also one of the reasons the Paduan frescoes acquired that extraordinary concentration and pictorial unity so appreciated today, and a possible explanation for the unusually stocky proportions of the figures.
Compared with the Assisi frescoes, the painting has become softer; the softer modelling gives the figures and objects an amplified volume. All harshness has been eliminated. The figures' gestures maintain an equilibrium between the "gravitas" of the antique and the gracefulness of French Gothic art. The narrative tone is solemn and elevated, yet relaxed and serene. The most important and most dignified figures have a majestic air, an expression of conviction, and a profound, concentrated gaze, yet they are warm and reassuringly human.
However, the scenes are not made up exclusively of prestigious characters; there is a supporting cast of minor characters whose lesser dignity is invariably emphasised by the expressiveness of their facial features and lively attitudes (in addition to their style of dress). We need only observe the faces of the servants waiting to pour the wine in the Marriage at Cana, or of Christ's torturers in the scenes of the Passion which are close to caricatures; or the smiles of St Anne's companions in the Meeting at the Golden Gate, or the bustling mid-wives in the Birth of the Virgin.
This more prosaic tone characterizes the personifications of the Virtues and Vices, in which the more mundane atmosphere is accentuated by the use of contemporary dress. In this respect the Virtues and Vices bear the same relation to the other frescoes in the chapel as the Legend of St Francis does to the frescoes on the upper walls of the Upper Church. It is not mere coincidence that the extent of Giotto's intervention in the Virtues and Vices has also been the subject of controversy, while the sublime tone of the stories of Virgin and Christ has often led critics to overlook the weakness of certain parts, such as some of the marginal figures in the frescoes in the upper tiers (for instance, the three figures on the far right and the shepherd on the left in the Meeting at the Golden Gate, clearly executed by his less skilful assistants).
5 Сон Иоакима
8 Введение во храм {2939}
9 Принесение прутиков в храм
10 Молитва претендентов
11 Обручение Марии {4543}
12 Свадебная процессия {2948}
13...15 Благовещение {4544}
16 Встреча Марии с Елизаветой {1998}
18 Поклонение волхвов {2943}
19 Сретение {4545}
20 Бегство в Египет {1995}
21 Вифлеемское избиение младенцев {1349}
22 Отрок Христос среди учителей иудейских {5746}
23 Крещение
24 Свадьба в Кане {2949}
25 Воскрешение Лазаря
26 Вход в Иерусалим
29 Тайная вечеря
30 Омевение ног
31 Поцелуй Иуды
35 Распятие с предстоящими {1800}
36 Оплакивание {2941}
37 Воскресение
38 Вознесение Господне {3315}
39 Сошествие Св. Духа на апостолов
Страшный суд
41 Сила духа
42 Умеренность
43 Правосудие
44 Вера
45 Милосердие
46 Надежда
48 Зависть
49 Неверность
50 Несправедливость
51 Гнев
52 Непостоянство
53 Глупость
giotto3 - малый
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