by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
The Visitation by Giotto: Introduction
Mary's pale sleeve reaches across Elizabeth's golden mantle. Their arms meet, their heads incline towards one another, and the older woman's upward gaze holds the younger woman's attention. Around them, three other women wait. Giotto gives this meeting a small, closely fitted stage: a strip of ground, a blue background and a pink porch projecting over the entrance to a house. The physical welcome carries a recognition that the painting leaves invisible. Mary is carrying Jesus; Elizabeth, her older relative, is pregnant with John the Baptist.
The fresco belongs to the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua. It occupies the right side of the triumphal arch, the wall surrounding the entrance to the sanctuary. Padova Musei catalogues it as approximately 150 centimetres high and 133 centimetres wide, a more compact field than the broad narrative compartments running along the nave. Beneath the Annunciation, this intimate encounter joins the promise of Christ's conception to the unfolding story of his life. [1]
At a Glance
- SettingRight side of the Scrovegni Chapel’s triumphal arch, below the Annunciation. [1]
- DimensionsApproximately 150 cm high × 133 cm wide. [1]
- NarrativeMary greets Elizabeth in Zechariah’s house, in Luke’s account. [2]
This work across Giotto’s career
Santa Maria Novella Crucifix
Late 13th century; c.1288–89 or 1298–1301; disputed; track: c.1288–89 [3]Life of Saint Francis — Upper Church cycle, Assisi
Traditionally Giotto; late 13th–early 14th century; authorship and date disputed; track: c.1290–95 convention [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]Ognissanti Madonna
c.1300–05 (Uffizi); c.1310 also proposed; track: c.1300–05 [9]Scrovegni Chapel — painted decoration
c.1303–05 (chapel campaign); Giotto and workshop (painted decoration) [10] [11] [12]Visitation — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua (current article)
c.1303–05 (chapel campaign); Giotto and workshop [13] [10]Madonna and Child — Washington / Goldman Madonna
c.1310–1315 (National Gallery of Art) [14]Stefaneschi Triptych
c.1320; 1315–20 (Vatican Museums); Giotto and workshop [15]Bardi Chapel — painted decoration
After 1317, usually the 1320s; disputed; Giotto and workshop / Giottesque painters; individual hands disputed [16] [17]Baroncelli Polyptych
After 1328; completion uncertain; band continues to axis edge; Giotto and workshop [18]Giotto’s Campanile — Florence Cathedral bell tower
Giotto’s phase 1334–37; completed 1359 by successors [19] [20] [21]Contents
- The greeting in Luke's Gospel
- Two ages, one encounter
- The women who wait
- A house shaped around the welcome
- Remembering the Golden Gate
- Beneath the Annunciation, opposite Judas
The greeting in Luke's Gospel
Luke introduces Elizabeth before Mary. She and her husband Zechariah are elderly and have no children; an angel announces that they will have a son named John. When Gabriel subsequently comes to Mary at Nazareth, he tells her that Elizabeth has conceived despite her age. The two pregnancies enter the narrative together, although they have different histories and different theological meanings. Mary then travels into the hill country of Judah and greets Elizabeth in Zechariah's house. [2]
The decisive sequence is in Luke 1:39–45. Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting, the child moves in her womb, and she is filled with the Holy Spirit. She recognises Mary as the mother of her Lord and praises her belief in the fulfilment of God's message. The encounter thus contains several kinds of recognition: one woman welcomes another; Elizabeth recognises the significance of Mary's pregnancy; and John's joyful movement anticipates his relationship to Jesus. The future Baptist's response belongs to the Gospel's account, although Giotto does not show the unborn children inside their mothers. [2]
Mary's response follows in verses 46–55: the song known as the Magnificat, praising God for mercy, for raising the lowly and for overturning the power of the proud. Luke then says that Mary remained with Elizabeth for about three months before returning home. These words extend the significance of the meeting beyond its first moment. They do not require us to read every subsequent verse as a separate action literally painted in the fresco. Giotto concentrates the narrative into the women's approach and embrace. [2]
The Gospel does not supply the names of the three accompanying women or describe the porch shown here. The picture gives the encounter a visible social setting of its own. That setting allows the greeting to be both an extraordinary recognition and an event occurring within the ordinary company of women.
Two ages, one encounter
Mary stands to the left of the central pair. Her red garment forms a nearly upright column, while its lower folds spread and turn near the ground. A pale sleeve, edged with gold, makes the movement of her arm especially clear. Elizabeth stands on the right in a broad yellow-ochre mantle. Its outer contour swells away from the point at which their bodies meet, then descends towards a heavy hem. The different shapes let us distinguish the women immediately, even before examining their faces.
Their heads establish a more delicate relationship. Mary inclines hers downward; Elizabeth looks up towards her. Both have golden haloes, but their faces occupy different angles within them. Mary's smooth cheek and braided hair contrast with Elizabeth's more angular face, lined neck and greying hair. Age is made legible through specific features rather than a written label. It supplies a visual counterpart to Luke's account of Elizabeth's late pregnancy, while leaving Mary recognisably younger. [2]
Mary and Elizabeth incline towards one another and touch arms, with the waiting attendants and porch behind. Image source. Public domain. Cropped and proportionally reduced reproduction; no colour or content enhancement.
Elizabeth's forward inclination is crucial. She has come towards Mary, and her raised face sustains the meeting at eye level despite the difference in their posture. Mary's answering bend completes the exchange. Neither figure is simply presented frontally for identification. Each is directed towards the other, and their attention gives the central space its intensity. The spectator approaches an encounter already taking place.
The arms make a second, lower connection beneath the faces. Mary's pale forearm crosses the gold mantle, ending in an open hand at Elizabeth's side. Another hand appears against Mary's red clothing. These contacts give the meeting breadth: the women touch around the upper body rather than merely extending fingertips. Their bodies remain separately readable, but the repeated crossing of colours and arms joins them into a single group.
Look down from the hands and the pace changes. Long, comparatively quiet folds take over from the small movements around the faces. The hems conceal most of the feet, so the figures' footing is conveyed largely by the way the garments settle onto the narrow ground. Elizabeth's mantle has deep folds at its base; Mary's red cloth gathers beside it. This weight prevents the inclination above from becoming a floating gesture. The embrace has bodily support.
Luke's greeting and blessing explain the encounter, while the painted concentration of heads and hands communicates mutual attention. Giotto has chosen a configuration that remains understandable before a viewer has reconstructed the words. Knowledge of the Gospel then gives the visible welcome its further significance.
The women who wait
Two attendants stand behind Mary on the left. The nearer woman wears a light mantle over a pale green dress; the other appears behind her in grey. Their overlapping heads and shoulders make a small, compact group. Both look towards the meeting, but neither reaches into the embrace. The first woman's gathered drapery also creates a quieter version of the folds and enclosed arms at the centre.
On the right, a third woman stands beneath the porch, beside the dark entrance. A close-fitting, netlike covering marks the shape of her hair. Her pale dress is interrupted by conspicuous blue patches in the fresco's present appearance. Her arms hang lower than those of the central women, and her body stays comparatively upright. The interval between her and Elizabeth is narrow but distinct: she belongs to the house's entrance while Elizabeth has moved forward into the greeting.
The arrangement gives the meeting two different edges. Mary's companions form an overlapping cluster on the left; the solitary woman by the door closes the composition on the right. The central embrace is therefore surrounded without being crowded. There are enough witnesses to make this a shared occasion, but their stillness leaves the two haloed figures in possession of the action. The attendants' names and exact household duties remain uncertain; their positions and poses tell us more securely what they do within the picture.
The right-hand figure has also attracted a particular stylistic judgement. In his study of Giotto's works, Michael Viktor Schwarz singles her out as schematic and pedantic when considering the possible contribution of assistants to the chapel. This is his assessment of the figure's execution within a larger argument about workshop organisation. It does not identify a named assistant or establish a secure division of every painted passage between master and collaborators. [22]
His observation encourages a useful comparison within the fresco itself. The isolated woman's upright bearing and lowered arms are easy to take in at a glance. Mary and Elizabeth, by contrast, require the eye to negotiate intersecting limbs, inclined heads and opposing directions of gaze. Whether or not one accepts Schwarz's judgement about execution, the two kinds of figure perform different tasks. Stillness at the threshold makes the central movement more emphatic.
A house shaped around the welcome
The building occupies the upper right of the scene. Its pink walls and projecting roof stand out against the blue, while slender columns carry the porch. Decorated bands run along the roof's front and side. Beneath them, a dark arched entrance establishes a recess, and the shaded underside of the canopy gives the structure depth. These few elements are enough to evoke an entrance where a visitor can be received.
The porch has a strong relationship to the figures without enclosing them all. Its front edge projects above Elizabeth, while the house's doorway remains behind the attendant. Mary and her two companions stand farther out against the blue. This distribution gives the encounter a direction: arrival from the left meets welcome from the right. The Gospel says Mary entered Zechariah's house; the painted architecture makes the act of reception legible through an entrance and the movement away from it. [2]
The roof also supplies a counterweight to the women's curves. Its straight edges, the column shafts and the arched doorway divide the upper field into a few large shapes. Below, the meeting turns on softened contours: sleeves, bent necks and abundant cloth. The architecture holds these movements in a clear setting. It gives the gesture room to unfold while keeping the composition close and concentrated.
The surrounding painted frame reinforces that concentration. Geometric bands and simulated architectural members mark the episode as a bounded image within the chapel's larger wall. The scene's reduced dimensions make this boundary particularly noticeable. A viewer following the larger nave narratives encounters here a change of scale, with fewer figures and a single action occupying most of the available width. [1]
Remembering the Golden Gate
Another welcome in the chapel offers a revealing comparison: Joachim and Anna meeting at the Golden Gate. There, Mary's parents embrace before a large city entrance. Their faces press together in a kiss, and their arms close around one another's heads and shoulders. Companions gather nearby, while the gateway and its towers give the reunion an expansive architectural setting. [23]
Joachim and Anne’s Golden Gate embrace, a separate meeting from Mary and Elizabeth’s greeting. Photo: © Jörgens.Mi/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA3.0, Wikimedia Commons. Image source. CC BY-SA 3.0. Proportionally reduced reproduction; no colour or content enhancement.
The Visitation returns to several of these pictorial resources: a central embrace, watching women and a building that gives an arrival a place. Yet its contact is differently measured. Mary and Elizabeth maintain a small interval between their faces, allowing their meeting gazes to remain visible. Their arms connect lower down, across the torso. The domestic porch provides a closer enclosure than the monumental city gate. Similar ingredients produce a different rhythm of greeting.
The family relationship also changes. At the Golden Gate, Joachim and Anna are Mary's parents; in the Visitation, Mary herself meets Elizabeth while carrying Jesus. The earlier reunion belongs to the story leading towards Mary's birth, while this encounter belongs to the opening of Luke's Gospel. Seen together, the pictures allow welcome and bodily closeness to recur across generations without making the two embraces interchangeable.
The Padova Musei catalogue raises the possibility that models were reused in the Visitation, perhaps through cartoons, or preparatory designs. It explicitly presents this as a possibility. Recurring arrangements of embracing figures can prompt questions about how a workshop developed and adapted its designs, but they do not establish that a particular full-size cartoon survived or that the figures were transferred by a demonstrable process. The visible comparison is secure; the precise working method remains hypothetical. [1]
Beneath the Annunciation, opposite Judas
The Visitation's place beneath the Virgin of the Annunciation creates an immediate narrative connection. Above, Mary receives the message; below, she is recognised by Elizabeth. The story continues with the Nativity on the adjoining long wall. The visit consequently works as a hinge between the announcement of Christ's conception and the scenes of his birth and childhood. Its position on the arch lets this small episode participate in the chapel's larger movement. [24]
Across the sanctuary opening stands Judas receiving payment for betrayal, often called the Pact of Judas. This is the bargain with the priests, a different episode from Judas's later kiss at Christ's arrest. Nadia Munari reads the pairing of the bargain and the Visitation as a moral relationship: Mary and Judas exemplify opposite forms of conduct, connected in turn to the chapel's Virtues and Vices and to the separation of the saved and damned in the Last Judgement. Her account explains how narrative and moral instruction can work together across the building. It is a scholarly reading of the arrangement, rather than a surviving set of commission instructions. [24]
Laura Jacobus likewise finds the opposition between Mary's charity and Judas's avarice helpful in her review of Anne Derbes and Mark Sandona's The Usurer's Heart. She questions the stronger claim that the pairing specifically opposes the fertility of Mary's charity to the sterility of Judas's usury. Her objection concerns the evidence needed to make Judas stand for usury in particular, rather than avarice more generally. The distinction preserves the force of the juxtaposition while allowing debate over the more elaborate explanation. [25]
Returning from those wider relationships to the picture, the welcome remains concrete. An older woman advances from a house; a younger woman answers her movement; companions stop at either side. A sleeve crosses a mantle, and two faces turn towards one another. The scene's place in the Christian history of salvation depends on the identities of Mary, Elizabeth and their unborn children. Its pictorial clarity depends on the care with which Giotto makes a greeting visible.
Watch: Explore Giotto’s Art
Choose an overview or a closer look at three major works. These films provide wider Giotto context alongside this article.
Artworks directory
This directory brings together 209 records for paintings, ensembles, individual scenes and components, architectural work, an associated disputed design, and reported or lost projects connected with Giotto. Ensembles and their parts appear separately, so 209 is a count of records rather than independent paintings or commissions. Attributions and dates remain qualified where disputed; inclusion does not establish Giotto’s own hand throughout.
| Name | Date | Medium, attribution and status |
|---|---|---|
| Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Joachim among the Shepherds — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Annunciation to Saint Anne — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Sacrifice of Joachim — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Joachim’s Dream — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Meeting at the Golden Gate — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Birth of the Virgin — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Delivery of the Rods — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Prayer of Joseph and the Suitors — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Marriage of the Virgin — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Wedding Procession of Mary — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Annunciation on the triumphal arch — complete ensemble (Scrovegni Chapel, Padua) | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Wall painting with a central painted wooden panel. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble. Includes the Mission of Gabriel and the lower Annunciation pair; the original central wooden panel is in the Musei Civici agli Eremitani, with a conservation copy in the chapel. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Scholarly study. Chapel overview. |
| Visitation — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Nativity — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Adoration of the Magi — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Presentation of Christ at the Temple — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Flight into Egypt — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Massacre of the Innocents — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Christ among the Doctors — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Baptism of Christ — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Marriage at Cana — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Raising of Lazarus — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Entry into Jerusalem — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Expulsion of the Money Changers — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Judas Receiving the Payment — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Last Supper — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Washing of the Feet — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Arrest of Christ — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Christ before Annas and Caiaphas — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Mocking of Christ and Flagellation — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Road to Calvary — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Crucifixion — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Lamentation — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Resurrection / Noli me tangere — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Ascension — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Pentecost — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Coretto — right painted recess (Scrovegni Chapel, Padua) | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / painted fictive architecture. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Scholarly study. Chapel overview. |
| Coretto — left painted recess (Scrovegni Chapel, Padua) | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / painted fictive architecture. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Scholarly study. Chapel overview. |
| Envy — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Despair — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Prudence — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Fortitude — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Temperance — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Justice — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Faith — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Charity — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Hope — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Folly — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Inconstancy — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Wrath — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Injustice — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Infidelity / Idolatry — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Starry vault — complete ensemble (Scrovegni Chapel, Padua) | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Vault painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. |
| Last Judgement — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. |
| Prophet Malachi — vault medallion — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. |
| Prophet Baruch — vault medallion — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. |
| Prophet Isaiah — vault medallion — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. |
| Prophet Daniel — vault medallion — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. |
| Christ Pantocrator — vault medallion — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. |
| Virgin and Child — vault medallion — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. |
| Prophet Ezekiel — vault medallion — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. |
| Prophet Micah — vault medallion — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. |
| Saint John the Baptist — vault medallion — Scrovegni Chapel, Padua | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. |
| Scrovegni Chapel — painted decoration | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting, with a painted wooden panel. Giotto and workshop (painted decoration). Ensemble. Includes separately listed scenes and components. The original central God the Father panel is in the Musei Civici agli Eremitani; a conservation copy is in the chapel. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Source. Source. Source. Padova Musei. Scholarly study. |
| Vices and Virtues — complete fourteen-figure programme | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Grisaille fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble. Fourteen figures: seven virtues and seven opposed vices. Padova Musei. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. |
| Coretti — paired fictive chapels | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / painted fictive architecture. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble. Two separate painted recesses, also listed individually. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Scholarly study. |
| Mission of Gabriel — heavenly assembly | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Wall painting with central painted wooden image. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Central wooden God the Father panel preserved at the Musei Civici agli Eremitani; conservation copy in the chapel. Chapel overview. Padova Musei. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| Annunciation — Gabriel and Mary in facing chambers | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Chapel overview. Scholarly study. Padova Musei. |
| God the Father — central wooden panel of the Mission of Gabriel | c.1303–05 (chapel campaign) | Painting on wood. Associated with Giotto. Ensemble component. Original at the Musei Civici agli Eremitani, Padua; conservation copy in the Scrovegni Chapel. Padova Musei. Padova Musei. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Life of Saint Francis — Upper Church cycle, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Fresco / wall-painting cycle. Traditionally associated with Giotto; Giotto, Roman-school and other attributions disputed. Ensemble. Twenty-eight-scene nave cycle; scenes also listed individually. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. Basilica catalogue. Source. Source. |
| Homage of a Simple Man — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Gift of the Mantle — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Dream of the Palace Full of Arms — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Prayer before the Crucifix at San Damiano — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Renunciation of Worldly Goods — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Dream of Innocent III — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Confirmation of the Rule — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Vision of the Flaming Chariot — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Vision of the Thrones — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Expulsion of Devils from Arezzo — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Trial by Fire before the Sultan — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Ecstasy of Saint Francis — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Nativity at Greccio — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Miracle of the Spring — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Sermon to the Birds — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Death of the Knight of Celano — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Sermon before Pope Honorius III — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Apparition at the Chapter of Arles — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Stigmatisation — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Death and Ascension of Saint Francis — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Apparition to Brother Augustine and Bishop Guido — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Zeri catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Verification of the Stigmata — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Mourning of the Poor Clares — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Canonisation of Saint Francis — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Apparition to Pope Gregory IX — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Zeri catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Healing of John of Lerida — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Resurrection of a Woman — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Liberation of the Prisoner Peter — Upper Church, Assisi | Late 13th–early 14th century; dating disputed | Wall painting. Traditionally associated with Giotto; authorship and dating disputed. Scene within a cycle. Source. Source. Scholarly study. Source. Source. Source. |
| Santa Maria Novella Crucifix | Late 13th century; c.1288–89 or 1298–1301; disputed | Tempera and gold on a shaped wooden cross. Giotto. Source. |
| Death of the Virgin / Dormition — Berlin | c.1310 | Tempera and gold on poplar; gabled dossal. Giotto. Source. Source. |
| Peruzzi Altarpiece | c.1311–1315 (North Carolina Museum of Art) | Tempera and gold on panel. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble. Source. |
| Bologna Polyptych | c.1330 | Tempera and gold on panel. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble. Source. |
| Death of Saint Francis, Bardi Chapel | After 1317, usually the 1320s; disputed | Wall painting with wet-plaster and dry-applied passages. Giotto. Scene within a cycle. Source. |
| Bardi Chapel — painted decoration | After 1317, usually the 1320s; disputed | Wall painting with wet-plaster and dry-applied passages. Giotto and workshop / Giottesque painters; individual hands disputed. Ensemble. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Badia Polyptych | c.1300; proposed dates include 1295–1300 and 1301–02 | Tempera and gold on panel; five cusped compartments. Giotto. Ensemble. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Baroncelli Polyptych | After 1328; detached pinnacle c.1328–35 | Tempera and gold on panel; later altered framing. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble. Detached central pinnacle in San Diego. Santa Croce. |
| Adoration of the Magi / Epiphany — Metropolitan Museum panel | Possibly c.1320; c.1310–18 also proposed for the group | Tempera and gold on wood. Giotto. Part of the dispersed seven-scene board; original function disputed. Met catalogue. Source. |
| Franciscan Allegories | Early 14th century, often c.1315; disputed | Vault wall painting. Giotto and workshop / Giottesque painters; individual hands disputed. Ensemble. Basilica catalogue. |
| Navicella — lost / reworked original mosaic | Late 13th–early 14th century; date disputed | Mosaic. Original attributed to Giotto. Original lost / reworked; fragments and later remakes survive. Scholarly study. |
| Pentecost — London panel | Possibly c.1310–18 (Gordon) | Egg tempera on poplar. Giotto and workshop. Part of the dispersed seven-scene board; original function disputed. National Gallery. Source. |
| Saint Stephen — Horne panel | c.1330–1335 (Museo Horne) | Tempera and gold on panel. Giotto. Proposed association with the Washington and Chaalis panels remains hypothetical. Source. |
| Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata — Louvre altarpiece | 1300–25 (Louvre) | Tempera and gold on poplar. Giotto. Louvre catalogue. |
| Stefaneschi Triptych | c.1320; 1315–20 (Vatican Museums) | Tempera and gold on panel; painted on both sides. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble. Vatican Museums. |
| Crucifixion, Berlin | c.1315–1320 | Tempera and gold on poplar. Giotto. Source. |
| Madonna and Child — Washington / Goldman Madonna | c.1310–1315 (National Gallery of Art) | Tempera and gold on poplar. Giotto. Washington panel, distinct from San Giorgio alla Costa; proposed Horne/Chaalis companions remain hypothetical. NGA catalogue. |
| Ognissanti Madonna | c.1300–05 (Uffizi); c.1310 also proposed | Tempera and gold on panel. Giotto. Uffizi. |
| Madonna of Borgo San Lorenzo | c.1290–95; dating and attribution debated | Tempera and gold on a fragment of a wooden panel. Giotto. Fragmentary. Source. |
| Madonna of San Giorgio alla Costa | c.1288–95 (Opera del Duomo); later dates also proposed | Tempera and gold on panel; cut edges. Giotto. Damaged in 1993 and treated in 1995. Source. |
| Magdalene Chapel — painted decoration | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Wall painting with wet-plaster and dry-applied passages. Giotto and workshop / Giottesque painters; individual hands disputed. Ensemble. Basilica catalogue. |
| Ognissanti Crucifix | c.1315–1320 (Opificio) | Painting on a shaped wooden cross. Giotto and workshop. Workshop participation and alternative attributions debated. Source. |
| Padua Crucifix | c.1303–05 (Zeri catalogue) | Tempera and gold on a shaped wooden cross. Giotto. Zeri catalogue. |
| Peruzzi Chapel — painted decoration | c.1310–11 (Santa Croce); 1334–36 proposed by Schwarz | Wall painting with substantial dry-applied work and loss. Giotto and workshop / Giottesque painters; individual hands disputed. Ensemble. Santa Croce. |
| Rimini Crucifix | c.1300; late 13th century also proposed | Tempera and gold on a shaped wooden cross. Giotto. Source. |
| Giotto’s Campanile — Florence Cathedral bell tower | Begun 1334; completed 1359 under successors | Marble-clad masonry bell tower. Begun under Giotto; continued by Andrea Pisano and Francesco Talenti. Successive building and sculptural campaigns. Source. Scholarly study. Scholarly study. |
| Tower elevation on parchment, Siena — disputed relation to Giotto | 14th century; date and design context disputed | Brown ink and coloured washes over incised construction on three parchment skins. Attribution disputed; possibly a Giotto design transmitted through another hand. Associated design; autograph attribution unestablished. Alternative attributions include Lando di Pietro. Scholarly study. Source. Source. |
| Seven scenes of Christ — dispersed painted board | Possibly c.1310–18 (Gordon); component dates vary | Tempera and gold on a single wooden board, subsequently divided. Giotto and workshop; individual attributions vary. Reconstructed dispersed ensemble. Common board supported by matching wood grain; predella or dossal function disputed. Source. Source. |
| Presentation of Christ at the Temple — Boston panel | Possibly c.1310–18 (Gordon’s group dating) | Tempera and gold on wood. Giotto and workshop; individual attribution varies within the group. Ensemble component. Source. Source. |
| Last Supper — Munich panel | Possibly c.1310–18 (Gordon’s group dating) | Tempera and gold on wood. Giotto and workshop; individual attribution varies within the group. Ensemble component. Source. Source. Source. |
| Crucifixion — Munich panel | Possibly c.1310–18 (Gordon’s group dating) | Tempera and gold on wood. Giotto and workshop; individual attribution varies within the group. Ensemble component. Source. Source. Source. |
| Descent into Limbo — Munich panel | Possibly c.1310–18 (Gordon’s group dating) | Tempera and gold on wood. Giotto and workshop; individual attribution varies within the group. Ensemble component. Source. Source. Source. |
| Entombment — Villa I Tatti panel | Possibly c.1310–18 (Gordon’s group dating) | Tempera and gold on wood. Giotto and workshop; individual attribution varies within the group. Ensemble component. Source. Source. |
| God the Father with Angels — detached Baroncelli pinnacle | c.1328–1335 (San Diego Museum of Art) | Tempera and gold on wood. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Detached in later remodelling; collection home in San Diego. Source. Source. |
| Saint John the Evangelist — Chaalis panel | c.1320 (INHA/RETIF) | Painting on wood. Giotto (INHA/RETIF attribution). Collection: Musée Jacquemart-André, Fontaine-Chaalis. Chantilly’s exhibition announcement, as of 1 November 2026, gives temporary display from 24 January 2026 with no end date. Association with the Washington/Horne altarpiece remains hypothetical. NGA catalogue. Source. Source. Source. Source. |
| Saint Lawrence — Chaalis panel | c.1320 (INHA/RETIF) | Painting on poplar. Giotto; possible execution by a collaborator (INHA/RETIF). Collection: Musée Jacquemart-André, Fontaine-Chaalis. Chantilly’s exhibition announcement, as of 1 November 2026, gives temporary display from 24 January 2026 with no end date. Association with the Washington/Horne altarpiece remains hypothetical. NGA catalogue. Source. Source. Source. Source. |
| Allegory of Poverty — Lower Church crossing vault, Assisi | Early 14th century, often c.1315; disputed | Vault wall painting. Giotto’s workshop / Giottesque painters; alternatives include Stefano. Ensemble component. Basilica catalogue. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Allegory of Chastity — Lower Church crossing vault, Assisi | Early 14th century, often c.1315; disputed | Vault wall painting. Giotto’s workshop / Giottesque painters; alternatives include Stefano. Ensemble component. Basilica catalogue. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Allegory of Obedience — Lower Church crossing vault, Assisi | Early 14th century, often c.1315; disputed | Vault wall painting. Giotto’s workshop / Giottesque painters; alternatives include Stefano. Ensemble component. Basilica catalogue. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Saint Francis in Glory — Lower Church crossing vault, Assisi | Early 14th century, often c.1315; disputed | Vault wall painting. Giotto’s workshop / Giottesque painters; alternatives include Stefano. Ensemble component. Basilica catalogue. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Renunciation of Worldly Goods — Bardi Chapel, Florence | After 1317, usually the 1320s; disputed | Wall painting: fresco with extensive dry-applied passages. Giotto and workshop; individual hands uncertain. Scene within a cycle. Source. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Confirmation of the Rule — Bardi Chapel, Florence | After 1317, usually the 1320s; disputed | Wall painting: fresco with extensive dry-applied passages. Giotto and workshop; individual hands uncertain. Scene within a cycle. Source. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Apparition at the Chapter of Arles — Bardi Chapel, Florence | After 1317, usually the 1320s; disputed | Wall painting: fresco with extensive dry-applied passages. Giotto and workshop; individual hands uncertain. Scene within a cycle. Source. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Trial by Fire before the Sultan — Bardi Chapel, Florence | After 1317, usually the 1320s; disputed | Wall painting: fresco with extensive dry-applied passages. Giotto and workshop; individual hands uncertain. Scene within a cycle. Source. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Apparitions to Brother Augustine and Bishop Guido — Bardi Chapel, Florence | After 1317, usually the 1320s; disputed | Wall painting: fresco with extensive dry-applied passages. Giotto and workshop; individual hands uncertain. Scene within a cycle. Source. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata — Bardi Chapel, Florence | After 1317, usually the 1320s; disputed | Wall painting: fresco with extensive dry-applied passages. Giotto and workshop; individual hands uncertain. Scene within a cycle. Source. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Saint Louis of Toulouse — Bardi Chapel niche | After 1317; campaign date disputed | Wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Saint Clare — Bardi Chapel niche | After 1317; campaign date disputed | Wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Saint Elizabeth of Hungary — Bardi Chapel niche | After 1317; campaign date disputed | Wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Franciscan virtues — Bardi Chapel vault programme | After 1317; campaign date disputed | Vault wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Group of ensemble components. Santa Croce. Source. |
| Annunciation to Zacharias — Peruzzi Chapel, Florence | c.1310–11 (Santa Croce); 1334–36 proposed by Schwarz | Wall painting with substantial dry-applied work. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Santa Croce. |
| Birth and Naming of John the Baptist — Peruzzi Chapel, Florence | c.1310–11 (Santa Croce); 1334–36 proposed by Schwarz | Wall painting with substantial dry-applied work. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Santa Croce. |
| Feast of Herod — Peruzzi Chapel, Florence | c.1310–11 (Santa Croce); 1334–36 proposed by Schwarz | Wall painting with substantial dry-applied work. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Santa Croce. |
| Vision of John on Patmos — Peruzzi Chapel, Florence | c.1310–11 (Santa Croce); 1334–36 proposed by Schwarz | Wall painting with substantial dry-applied work. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Santa Croce. |
| Raising of Drusiana — Peruzzi Chapel, Florence | c.1310–11 (Santa Croce); 1334–36 proposed by Schwarz | Wall painting with substantial dry-applied work. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Santa Croce. |
| Death and Ascension of John the Evangelist — Peruzzi Chapel, Florence | c.1310–11 (Santa Croce); 1334–36 proposed by Schwarz | Wall painting with substantial dry-applied work. Giotto and workshop. Scene within a cycle. Santa Croce. Scholarly study. Santa Croce. |
| Evangelist symbols — Peruzzi Chapel vault | c.1310–11 (Santa Croce); 1334–36 proposed by Schwarz | Wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Group of ensemble components. Santa Croce. |
| Eight prophets — Peruzzi Chapel entrance arch | c.1310–11 (Santa Croce); 1334–36 proposed by Schwarz | Wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Group of ensemble components. Santa Croce. |
| Mystic Lamb — Peruzzi Chapel fragment | c.1310–11 (Santa Croce); 1334–36 proposed by Schwarz | Wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component; fragmentary. Santa Croce. |
| Meal in the Pharisee’s House — Magdalene Chapel, Assisi | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop; individual hands debated. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Raising of Lazarus — Magdalene Chapel, Assisi | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop; individual hands debated. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Noli me tangere — Magdalene Chapel, Assisi | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop; individual hands debated. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Miracle of the Ruler of Marseille — Magdalene Chapel, Assisi | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop; individual hands debated. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Angelic Elevation of Mary Magdalene — Magdalene Chapel, Assisi | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop; individual hands debated. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Mary Magdalene Clothed by a Hermit — Magdalene Chapel, Assisi | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop; individual hands debated. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Last Communion and Ascent of the Magdalene’s Soul — Magdalene Chapel, Assisi | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop; individual hands debated. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Christ — Magdalene Chapel vault medallion | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Vault wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Mary Magdalene — Magdalene Chapel vault medallion | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Vault wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Martha — Magdalene Chapel vault medallion | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Vault wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Lazarus — Magdalene Chapel vault medallion | c.1307–08 (basilica); disputed | Vault wall painting. Giotto and workshop. Ensemble component. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Teobaldo Pontano before Saint Rufinus — Magdalene Chapel donor image | c.1307–08 (chapel campaign) | Wall painting. Giotto and workshop; donor identified by Schwarz. Ensemble component. Scholarly study. |
| Teobaldo Pontano before Mary Magdalene — Magdalene Chapel donor image | c.1307–08 (chapel campaign) | Wall painting. Giotto and workshop; donor identified by Schwarz. Ensemble component. Scholarly study. |
| Penitential saints — Magdalene Chapel entrance programme | Early 14th century; associated with the c.1307–08 campaign | Wall painting. Giotto and workshop / associated chapel programme. Group of ensemble components. Scholarly study. |
| Life of Mary Magdalene — stained-glass window | Early 14th century; exact date uncertain | Stained glass. Associated chapel programme; designer and maker uncertain. Associated programme. Eleven-episode stained-glass window, distinct from the wall paintings. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Childhood of Christ and Franciscan miracles — Lower Church north transept | Early 14th century, often c.1315; disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto and workshop; Stefano proposed by Schwarz; individual hands disputed. Ensemble. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Flight into Egypt — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop / Giottesque painters; Stefano proposed by Schwarz. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. Zeri catalogue. |
| Adoration of the Magi — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop / Giottesque painters; Stefano proposed by Schwarz. Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. Source. Zeri catalogue. |
| Angel medallion from the Navicella — Vatican | Late 13th–early 14th-century original; later restoration | Mosaic. Associated with Giotto’s Navicella; medieval material and later restoration. Fragmentary and restored. Scholarly study. |
| Angel medallion from the Navicella — Boville Ernica | Late 13th–early 14th-century original; later restoration | Mosaic. Associated with Giotto’s Navicella; medieval material and later restoration. Fragmentary and restored. Scholarly study. |
| Dream of Innocent III — Louvre Stigmatisation predella | 1300–25 (Louvre’s dating of the altarpiece) | Tempera and gold on wood. Part of the signed Giotto altarpiece; individual hand uncertain. Ensemble component. Louvre catalogue. Louvre catalogue. |
| Approval of the Rule — Louvre Stigmatisation predella | 1300–25 (Louvre’s dating of the altarpiece) | Tempera and gold on wood. Part of the signed Giotto altarpiece; individual hand uncertain. Ensemble component. Louvre catalogue. Louvre catalogue. |
| Saint Francis Preaching to the Birds — Louvre Stigmatisation predella | 1300–25 (Louvre’s dating of the altarpiece) | Tempera and gold on wood. Part of the signed Giotto altarpiece; individual hand uncertain. Ensemble component. Louvre catalogue. Louvre catalogue. |
| Possible wall decoration at San Francesco, Rimini — lost | c.1300; exact date uncertain | Possibly fresco / wall painting. Possible association with Giotto. Possible lost commission. Programme and extent unknown. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Works at the Basilica of Saint Anthony, Padua — reported, lost | By c.1313 (reported activity); exact date unknown | Painting; wall or panel support uncertain. Giotto’s activity reported by Riccobaldo. Lost works reported in historical accounts. Scholarly study. Scholarly study. |
| Painted heaven / celestial decoration, Palazzo della Ragione — lost | Early 14th century (Giovanni da Nono’s account) | Painting; wooden-vault tempera or wall fresco disputed. Associated with Giotto in historical accounts. Lost. Wooden-vault interpretation proposed by Schwarz; present astrological murals follow the 1420 fire. Scholarly study. |
| Great chapel decoration, Castel Nuovo — disputed / largely lost | Documented 20 May 1331; Neapolitan service 1328–33 | Wall painting with metal decoration and mixed materials. Giotto-led documented commission. Largely lost; attribution of fragments disputed. Other masters participated; surviving window fragments leave the programme uncertain. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Private chapel decoration, Castel Nuovo — documented, lost | Documented 20 May 1331; execution dates unknown | Wall painting / chapel decoration; technique uncertain. Giotto. Documented commission; lost. Separate from the great chapel; programme unknown. Scholarly study. |
| Royal cona made in Giotto’s house, Naples — documented, lost | Recorded 20 May 1331 | Panel painting (cona); exact technique uncertain. Documented in Giotto’s house. Documented object; lost. Movable panel; subject, dimensions and composition unknown. Scholarly study. |
| Calvary and Lamentation / decoration — Santa Chiara, disputed fragments | Late 1320s–early 1330s; exact date uncertain | Wall painting and painted architectural furnishings. Associated with Giotto and collaborators; individual attributions disputed. Fragmentary programme. Extent of surviving decoration disputed. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Apocalypse paintings, Naples — reported, lost | Undated; associated in later accounts with Naples | Painting; support unknown. Attributed to Giotto in later accounts. Lost works reported in historical accounts. Programme uncertain. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Gloria mondana / Worldly Glory — disputed identification | Undated; proposed Milanese context disputed | Painting; support and format unknown. Association with Giotto and identity disputed. Lost; identity and location disputed. Scholarly study. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Marian cycle, Tosinghi-Spinelli Chapel — lost interior | Undated; reported by Ghiberti and Vasari | Wall painting. Attributed to Giotto by Ghiberti and Vasari. Lost cycle reported in historical accounts. Interior cycle distinct from the damaged entrance Assumption. Scholarly study. Scholarly study. |
| Assumption of the Virgin — Tosinghi-Spinelli entrance, badly preserved | Undated; associated with the Santa Croce decoration | Wall painting. Associated with Giotto in scholarship; attribution uncertain. Badly preserved trace reported in scholarship. Trace distinguished from the lost interior cycle by Schwarz and Theis. Scholarly study. Scholarly study. |
| Apostolic histories, Giugni Chapel — reported, lost | Undated; described by Vasari | Wall painting. Attributed to Giotto by Vasari. Lost cycle reported in historical accounts. Scholarly study. |
| Life of John the Baptist, Santa Maria del Carmine — reported, lost | Undated; attributed by Vasari | Wall painting. Attributed to Giotto by Vasari. Lost cycle reported in historical accounts. Scholarly study. |
| Marian wall decoration — Badia Fiorentina, disputed fragments | Undated; attribution disputed | Wall painting. Association with Giotto disputed. Fragmentary programme. Separate from the Badia Polyptych. Source. Scholarly study. |
| Allegory of the Commune Being Robbed — reported, lost | Undated; reported by Ghiberti | Wall painting / civic allegory. Attributed to Giotto by Ghiberti. Lost work reported in historical accounts. Composition uncertain. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Chapel decoration, Castello di Galliera, Bologna — reported, lost | Before 1334; chapel traces reported in 1560 | Wall painting. Associated with Giotto in historical accounts. Lost cycle reported in historical accounts. The chapel survived the fortress’s 1334 demolition; traces reported in 1560; date of final loss unknown. Scholarly study. Source. |
| Crucifixion — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop (Zeri); alternative attributions disputed. Scene within a cycle. Zeri catalogue. |
| Young Man of Sessa Recovered from the Ruins — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop (Zeri); alternative attributions disputed. Scene within a cycle. Separate scene from the Resurrection of the Young Man of Sessa. Zeri catalogue. Source. |
| Saint Francis Revives a Child Fallen from a Palace Window — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop (Zeri); alternative attributions disputed. Scene within a cycle. Revival in Zeri’s title; the child’s identity and alternative harmless-fall interpretation remain disputed. Zeri catalogue. |
| Resurrection of the Young Man of Sessa — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop (Zeri); alternative attributions disputed. Scene within a cycle. Separate scene from the Recovery of the Young Man of Sessa from the Ruins. Zeri catalogue. Source. |
| Saint Francis with Death — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop (Zeri); alternative attributions disputed. Ensemble component. Zeri catalogue. |
| Visitation — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop (Zeri); alternative attributions disputed. Scene within a cycle. Zeri catalogue. |
| Nativity — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop (Zeri); alternative attributions disputed. Scene within a cycle. Zeri catalogue. |
| Presentation of Christ at the Temple — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop (Zeri); alternative attributions disputed. Scene within a cycle. Zeri catalogue. |
| Massacre of the Innocents — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop (Zeri); alternative attributions disputed. Scene within a cycle. Zeri catalogue. |
| Return of the Holy Family after the Temple Episode — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; c.1308–11 (Zeri); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giotto’s workshop (Zeri); alternative attributions disputed. Scene within a cycle. Also titled Return to Bethlehem or Return to Nazareth; one physical painting. Zeri catalogue. |
| Annunciation — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | c.1310 (basilica); disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Collaborator of Giotto (basilica attribution). Scene within a cycle. Basilica catalogue. Scholarly study. |
| Christ among the Doctors — Lower Church north transept, Assisi | Early 14th century; disputed | Fresco / wall painting. Giottesque workshop; Stefano proposed by Schwarz. Scene within a cycle. Scholarly study. |
Discussion
Look again at the images and ideas explored in The Visitation by Giotto. These editorial prompts invite your observations.
Reader Insights
How does Elizabeth’s upward gaze shape the exchange between the two women?
How does this embrace recall Joachim and Anne’s meeting at the Golden Gate?
Join the Conversation
Share a detail, comparison or question about The Visitation by Giotto below.
References
- Padova Musei, “La visitazione di Maria ad Elisabetta,” La Cappella degli Scrovegni, complete object entry: medium, approximate dimensions, location on the right triumphal arch, and closing sentence proposing possible reuse of models, perhaps cartoons. Official catalogue record. View source.
- The Gospel according to Luke, 1:5–25 (Elizabeth and Zechariah), 1:26–38 (the Annunciation and Elizabeth's pregnancy), 1:39–45 (the visit, greeting and recognition), 1:46–55 (the Magnificat), and 1:56 (Mary's stay and return); Greek, Latin and Ronald Knox English texts presented by New Advent. Luke, chapter 1. Narrative paraphrased; the kinship term is rendered here as “relative.” View source.
- Opera per Santa Maria Novella, “The Crucifix by Giotto,” current church account, undated, accessed 31 October 2026, . Its early dating, colour symbolism and theological interpretation are identified here as the institution's account. View source.
- Basilica Papale di San Francesco in Assisi, “Chiesa Superiore,” institutional description, accessed 1 November 2026, . Building, decorative registers and explicitly competing Giotto/Roman-school attributions. View source. (in Italian).
- Michael Viktor Schwarz, with Michaela Zöschg, Giottus Pictor, vol. II, Giottos Werke (Vienna, Cologne and Weimar: Böhlau, 2008), pp. 331–344, especially pp. 333–334 on programme relationships, 335–337 on campaigns, 338–342 on comparisons and proposed borrowing, and 343–344 on work sequence and the proposed chronology; . Schwarz's reconstruction is presented as his argument. View source. (in German).
- Felice Autieri, OFMConv, “Il Presepe di Greccio nella Basilica superiore,” Basilica Papale di San Francesco in Assisi, accessed 1 November 2026, . Episode identity, institutional dating and discussion of represented liturgical furniture. View source. (in Italian).
- Miklós Boskovits, “Giotto di Bondone,” Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 55 (2001), sections on the Upper Church biblical paintings, the twenty-eight Storie della leggenda di s. Francesco and the 1307–09 Assisi connection; . The account's attribution and chronology are distinguished from later alternatives. View source.
- Directorio Franciscano, “Vida de San Francisco de Asís: Textos de San Buenaventura e ilustraciones de Giotto,” complete twenty-eight-episode index with paired Legenda maior references, , accessed 1 November 2026; narrative details checked against the Salter edition cited in note 3. View source. (in Spanish).
- Daniela Parenti, “Virgin and Child enthroned, surrounded by angels and saints (Ognissanti Maestà),” Uffizi Galleries, current collection record, accessed 1 November 2026. View source.
- Comune di Padova, Cappella degli Scrovegni, “La Cappella di Giotto,” official overview, programme, dedication, vault and Giovanni Pisano sculpture. View source. (in Italian).
- Padova Musei Civici, Vita di Maria, collection inventory. View source. (in Italian).
- Padova Musei Civici, Dio Padre incarica l’arcangelo Gabriele di dare l’annuncio a Maria, collection record. View source. (in Italian).
- Padova Musei, “La visitazione di Maria ad Elisabetta,” La Cappella degli Scrovegni, complete object entry: medium, approximate dimensions, location on the right triumphal arch, and closing sentence proposing possible reuse of models, perhaps cartoons. View source.
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, “Madonna and Child,” Giotto, c. 1310/1315, accession 1939.1.256, current artwork overview and object details, accessed 1 November 2026. View source.
- Vatican Museums, “Giotto di Bondone and assistants, Stefaneschi triptych,” Pinacoteca, Room II, current object description, consulted 1 November 2026; date 1315–1320, commission, two-sided arrangement and principal figures. View source.
- Michael Viktor Schwarz, with Michaela Zöschg, Giottus Pictor, vol. 2, Giottos Werke, Vienna, Cologne and Weimar: Böhlau, 2008, pp. 412–14, on the proposed chronology, and pp. 418–26: chapel status and liturgical memoria, pp. 418–19; Ridolfo, burial evidence and patronage, pp. 419–20; programme and memorial interpretation, pp. 420–26. View source. (in German).
- Opera di Santa Croce, , historical dossier, 11 September 2026, on programme, probable patron, post-1317 dating and the conservation history. View source.
- Opera di Santa Croce, “Incoronazione della Vergine tra angeli e santi (Polittico Baroncelli), Giotto,” current institutional catalogue, object information and introductory account, accessed 1 November 2026. View source. (in Italian).
- Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, “Giotto's Bell Tower,” current institutional monument record, sections on structure, building chronology, sculpture and bells, consulted 1 November 2026. . The specialist museum records cited below control the early sculptors' names. View source.
- Michael Viktor Schwarz, with Michaela Zöschg, Giottus Pictor II: Giottos Werke (Vienna, Cologne and Weimar: Böhlau, 2008), “Der Campanile: Nachleben im Bau,” pp. 599–603 and 613–614: site sequence, design experience, structural breaks and sculptural attribution. View source. (in German).
- Michael Viktor Schwarz and Pia Theis, Giottus Pictor I: Giottos Leben (Vienna: Böhlau, 2004), pp. 58–62; appointment of 12 April 1334, pp. 267–269, transcribing Florence, Archivio di Stato, Provvisioni Registri 26, fols. 100v–101r. Foundation, 1335 witness and modern conversion of the death year: pp. 60–61. View source. (in German).
- Michael Viktor Schwarz, with Michaela Zöschg, Giottus Pictor II: Giottos Werke (Vienna, Cologne and Weimar: Böhlau, 2008), pp. 127–128, especially p. 128, opening paragraph, referring to the woman on the right in the Visitation and figure 73. Open-access volume, FWF e-book library. View source. (in German).
- Padova Musei, “L'incontro di Gioacchino e Anna alla Porta Aurea,” La Cappella degli Scrovegni, object entry and whole-scene image, especially the opening account of Joachim and Anna's reunion. Official catalogue record. View source.
- Nadia Munari, “Storia della Salvezza e visioni dell’Aldilà nella Cappella degli Scrovegni e nel Battistero di Padova,” in Federica Millozzi and Giovanna Valenzano, eds., Inferno e Paradiso: La storia biblica della Salvezza nella Cappella degli Scrovegni e nel Battistero di Padova (Padua: Padova University Press, 2025), pp. 71–78, especially pp. 72–73 on the narrative itinerary, Visitation/Pact pairing and relation to the Virtues, Vices and Judgement. Open-access volume. View source. (in Italian).
- Laura Jacobus, review of Anne Derbes and Mark Sandona, The Usurer's Heart: Giotto, Enrico Scrovegni, and the Arena Chapel in Padua (2008), The Medieval Review 09.07.18 (2009), paragraphs beginning “Much of the analysis of the chancel arch concentrates” and “However, these multiplying interpretations.” Complete review. View source.
- Splash image, Padua Visitation Image source. Public domain. Proportionally reduced reproduction; no colour or content enhancement.
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