THE TRECENTO: FOURTEENTH-CENTURY ITALIAN PAINTING (PROTO-RENAISSANCE)

A set of vocabulary-style flashcards covering Trecento terms, artists, works, and concepts from the lecture notes.

Trecento

The 14th century in Italian art (1300s); the era of early Italian painting that leads into the Proto-Renaissance.

Proto-Renaissance

The transitional period between medieval art and the Renaissance, emphasizing naturalism, humanism, and individual style.

Maestà

Maestà (majesty) refers to Mary enthroned; a central theme in Duccio’s Maestà Altarpiece.

Maestà Altarpiece

Duccio’s large altarpiece (1308–11) for Siena; front panel shows Madonna enthroned; back panel includes Entry into Jerusalem; tempera on wood.

Duccio

Sienese painter (c.1255–1319), key figure of the Trecento; author of the Maestà Altarpiece.

Altarpiece

A painting placed behind an altar; often multi-panel, such as the Maestà Altarpiece.

Tempera

A painting medium using egg yolk as binder, typically applied on wood panels.

Fresco

A painting technique in which pigments are applied to wet plaster on walls or ceilings; used in Giotto’s Arena Chapel.

Giotto

Florentine painter (c.1267–1337) recognized for naturalism and the move toward the Renaissance; key work includes the Arena Chapel.

Arena Chapel (Scrovegni Chapel)

Giotto’s fresco cycle in Padua (c.1305–06), illustrating scenes such as Entry into Jerusalem and Lamentation.

Entry into Jerusalem

Scene depicted in Maestà’s back panel and in Giotto’s Arena Chapel; shows Jesus entering Jerusalem with illusionistic space.

Lamentation

Giotto’s fresco in the Arena Chapel showing the Mourning of Christ after the crucifixion; renowned for its spatial composition.

Madonna and Child Enthroned

A Marian image; Giotto’s ca. 1310 version exemplifies Proto-Renaissance naturalism and modeling.

Pictorial space

The depiction of depth and space on a flat surface to suggest a three-dimensional environment.

Illusionistic space

A type of pictorial space that uses shading and perspective to create the illusion of depth.

Modeling

Shading technique used to describe volume and form in three dimensions.

Drapery

Depiction of cloth folds and fabric; important for defining form and movement in medieval and Trecento art.

Iconography

Study of symbols and subjects in artworks and their meanings.

Sienese School

Siena-based artistic tradition (e.g., Duccio) known for decorative elegance and color.

Florentine School

Florence-based artistic tradition (e.g., Giotto) emphasizing naturalism, modeling, and spatial clarity.

Early Christian Style

Art from late 2nd to 6th century; features iconography and early pictorial space.

Byzantine Style

4th–15th-century art characterized by formal, elongated figures, stylized drapery, and limited perspective.

French Gothic Style

Medieval European style (12th–14th c.) seen in manuscript illumination; features elongated figures and S-curve poses.

Jean Pucelle

French Gothic manuscript illuminator (1325–28), known for Arrest of Christ and Annunciation.

St. Lawrence going to his Martyrdom

Early Christian subject (ca. 450) in Ravenna’s Mausoleum of Galla Placidia; illustrates early Christian iconography.