Early Christian Art (pt. 13)

Giotto de Bondone was an Italian artist who made flat, unrealistic elements of style.  He made natural-looking figures who appear to take action in real space.  The Lamentation Pietà is set up much like a scene in a play, with the expressions and gestures of figures showing emotions like despair and grief.

Giotto's Pietà is a fresco, which is a painting created when pigment is applied to a wall spread with fresh plaster.  The fresco had to be completed before the plaster dried.  If there was a mistake, the whole thing had to be redone.  Because it dried so fast, it had to be done quickly, and there wasn't always time to add everything.  Fresco means "fresh."