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| Giotto, Kiss of Judas, The Scrovegni Chapel, Padua |
It is an arresting image in more ways
than one. A forest of spears, clubs and
flaming torches break the deep blue of the sky.
The foreground is crowded with figures, some with angry, worried faces,
fists raised and clutching their weapons.
A bugler winds his horn and countless black helmets hide the anonymous
soldiers. Amidst this crushing rabble,
One face is intensely calm. Jesus gazes
directly into the upturned eyes of his betrayer, who is about to kiss him. This is the signal. This is what they have been waiting for. He is the One.
The event of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest
in the Garden of Gethsemane recorded in the Gospels, has been depicted in art
on many occasions, but if I had to choose my favourite, it would be this
one. It captures the drama, the anger,
the shock, even the noise of the moment, but at the same time displays Christ’s
absolute serenity and willingness to surrender Himself to death. His smooth profile face contrasts
dramatically with that of Judas whose hooded eyes are held fast by those of
Jesus. Nearly all other eyes are on this scene in the centre, as if mesmerised,
waiting to see what will happen next.
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| detail, Giotto, Kiss of Juda, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua |
Giotto, the creator of this fresco, was
responsible for decorating the entire series of scenes that cover the interior of
the Scrovegni Chapel. The Kiss of Judas
is one of forty-two frescoes telling the stories of Joachim and Anna and Mary
their daughter, both of which are taken from the Apocrypha, and the life, death
and resurrection of Jesus, taken from the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
in the Bible. It has been said that this
scheme “…is one of the most highly regarded ensembles in the history of art” [1].
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| Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel, 12.80 x 20.82 x 8.42 m, Padua |
Why is it so highly regarded? Well, having had the privilege of actually
seeing these frescoes I think I can see why.
For anyone studying the Renaissance, Giotto is inescapable. He is
regarded as the start, the father of modern art [2],
the one without whom everything would be different, inconceivable. I studied him and his wonderful Scrovegni
Chapel frescoes back in the late nineties, and I was completely hooked. I wanted to see them ‘in the flesh’ from that
moment and although it took me nearly fifteen years, I finally saw them in July
last year. The Chapel is in Padua, in an
area known as The Arena due to its use in Roman times. The tickets need to be
booked well in advance and viewings are tightly controlled. Twenty-five people are allowed in for fifteen
minutes only, a time so short that it almost seemed like a dream. We had to be conditioned to the environment
in a special room for ten minutes first and then we were allowed into the
hallowed space.
The thing that hit me first was the
colour. It is blue and beautiful and
dreamlike. Pastel is everywhere creating
a feeling of ‘pretty’ colour, even in the Last Judgement at the far end, a far
from ‘pretty’ subject. The deep blue ceiling
is studded with gold stars and roundels, and the rectangular scenes themselves
are actually much bigger than I had imagined.
The Kiss is on the lower
register on the left between two windows.
Taking this image as our example, we can see the stunning colour palette
used by Giotto: the golden yellow of Judas’ cloak, the bright red of the
soldier’s uniform, pastel pink of the pointing figure in the foreground and the
azure blue of the night sky, with red and yellow flaming torches cutting
through it.
Giotto was not only clever with colour,
but innovative with his use of gesture and facial expression. That is really the key to Giotto and why he
has been hailed as so important in the history of art. Look at the expressions of the people in the
crowd, mouths open in shock, eyebrows knitted together in anger, and the calm
intensity of Jesus’ own eyes. The
gestures too, speak volumes: fists balled, a cloak being pulled from a fleeing
figure to the left, hands wielding weapons, a finger raised in admonishment and
a hug, a treacherous, all enveloping hug.
I could go on…but I won’t. Go and see them for yourself, they are worth
the effort, even though you only get fifteen minutes! It is fifteen minutes of wonder and awe and
for me, a dream come true.
Alison Barker
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