Giotto, Last Judgement, 1303-05, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua

Week One

Of all the decorative schemes in world art, the frescoes by Giotto (1267-1337) in Padua must be among the most coherent and most profound. Learn about their origins in this enlightening short course led by art historian and National Gallery educator Dr. Richard Stemp; discover the meaning of each image, and, by considering the ways in which they relate to one another, understand the full extent of Giotto’s genius.

In week one, Richard Stemp will introduce both artist, Giotto, and patron, Enrico Scrovegni, and talk about the reasons for the commission: the sins of the father. Scrovegni Senior was a noted usurer, even featuring among the damned in Dante’s Divine Comedy: Enrico sought to atone for his father’s misdeeds. The lecture will look at ways in which this affects the choice of imagery within the chapel, dominated as it is by an enormous painting of the Last Judgement, and determine how the frescoes are ordered and arranged.