Figure 1.--Giotto di Bondone (c1267-1337) was the most important Italian painter and architect of the Late Middle Ages.Giorgio Vasari in ('Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects' (Florence 1550) stated that Giotto was a shepherd boy and the great Florentine painter Cimabue discovered him drawing pictures of his sheep on a rock. Cimabue approached Giotto and asked if he could take him on as an apprentice. This is a depiction of the scene by the French painter Léon Bonnat (1850).
Léon Bonnat was born in Bayonne (!833) where he spent his childhood. As a teenager (1846-53) he lived in Madrid with his father who had a bookshop there. It was there that he developed an interest in art. Lithography was not yet developed, but illustrations were done with engravings. While working in the book store, Léon would copy the engraving illustrations of the Old Masters. He developed a pashion for drawing and exhibited considerable skill. He began his artistic training in Madrid, studying under Madrazo. When he returned to France, he began working in Paris. He had no trouble finding commissions. His portraits are said to show the influence of the Spanish and other masters he had studied in the Prado. He opposed neoclassicism and academicism. He worked the studios of the historical genre painters Paul Delaroche and Leon Cogniet (1854). As an aspiring young artist, he hoped to Prix de Rome -- A French award to study art in Rome. He obtained only a second prize. A scholarship award from Bayonne permitted him to study 3 years on his own in Rome (1858–60). While there he associated with Edgar Degas, Gustave Moreau, Jean-Jacques Henner and sculptor Henri Chapu. He developed a reputation as a talented artists nd his portraits were in great demand. He won a medal of honour in Paris (1869). He became one of the leading French artists of his day. He would win the Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur and became a professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts (1882). He proved very popular with American students studying in Paris, in part because of his linguistiv skills which included English. His long career left quite a substantial body of work. He took a middle of the road attitude toward the two major artistic trends of the day. His teaching one emphasis on overall effect and two rigorous drawing technique placed him square in the middle between the rising Impressionists and established academic schools. Here is Bonnat's depiction of Gereis Giotto di Bondone as a sheapard boy. Giotto (c1267-1337) was the most important Italian painter and architect of the Late Middle Ages. Giorgio Vasari in ('Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects' (Florence 1550) stated that Giotto was a shepherd boy and the great Florentine painter Cimabue discovered him drawing pictures of his sheep on a rock. Cimabue approached Giotto and asked if he could take him on as an apprentice. This is a depiction of the scene by Bonnat (1850).
