"The Lamentation" by Giotto

 This is a revolutionary painting. It doesn't look revolutionary, but it truly is for many different reasons. It was created just before the Renaissance. One of the reasons it is so important in art history is because Giotto made it so that the focus of the piece is off center, thus it is not symmetrical on each side. Before this, religious imagery consistently contained Jesus in the center with an equal number of whoever is accompanying him on either side whether it be angels, sheep, disciples, or anyone else. Now the focus is off center, and there is a different number of people on either side of him. Also, there is a large diagonal created from the landscape in the background, which creates more drama and causes your eye to move towards Jesus. The people and the angels are shown with emotion, they are distressed at the death of Jesus. One of the final reasons is that the people in the yellow and green shrouds are facing away from the viewer. This creates an effect of the viewer being part of the painting, and part of the events taking place. I love this painting for all of these reasons. It excites me to think about how innovative this painting by Giotto truly was. It helped instigate the Renaissance, making it a truly important piece. It is located in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy. Giotto was commissioned to complete the entire chapel, which includes scenes from the life of Jesus. I would love to be able to go to Italy and see The Lamentation for myself one day.