Plato & Giotto

First, what are your reflections on Plato's writing about art and artists?

I thought the reading was well thought out and brought up issues that many people do not think about very often. Artists on their own are usually thought of to be "dream-like" people in general. They may have a strange way of describing something, or may talk about an issue with unrealistic predictions, but in their mind, it all makes sense. The minds they have lets them create a world of total possibility, where imagination can dictate how one acts, or in this case, how one perceives music and the arts. Imaginary and reality are essentially one in the same to an artist. We can create from our imagination things that will be incorporated into our reality. Music may inspire us to dance, sing, or play, while looking at a work of art may inspire us to think critically about other aspects of our lives that we were unaware of before hand. Although reality seems to be the immediate inspiration for creativity, the imagination of the mind has the ability to create what we see into something we have never thought of before.

Next, Read your "Schematic Structure of the Artist's Biography" and your biography of Giotto by Vasari handouts. Look for aspects of Giotto's bio that correspond to the "Schematic Structure" and say why you think these could be seen as necessary parts of an artist's biography. What kind of person is Giotto in this narrative? What does his personality have to do with being an artist?

Giotto's artistic upbringing, who he studied under, and who he created for are all important aspects of an artist's biography, and the reading from Vasari displays that to the fullest extent. His natural talent was discovered immediately, and this early discovery led to his great success in his career. Not only was he seen as a natural artist, but he was one of the most important and visionary artists of his time, and many other artists and patrons, like the Pope, acknowledged this and hired him to do many works of art.

Giotto seemed to be a very open artist, seeing as he was hired by many different types of patrons. Even though he was willing to create works of art for various people, he was not afraid to make controversial art; King Charles and the ass painting would be a prime example. Giotto was not afraid to show viewers how he felt and had much confidence in his artistic abilities; giving the Pope a drawing of a complete and perfect circle. His confident personality allowed Giotto to truly excel in whatever he was pursuing, and led to all the success and praise that he received back then and still receives today.