Taddeo Gaddi: “The Tree of Life”

Taddeo Gaddi - Last Supper, Tree of Life and Four Miracle Scenes - c. 1360 - Fresco, 1120 x 1170 cm - Refectory, Santa Croce, Florence (click photo for larger image)

Taddeo Gaddi (c. 1300-1366) was an Early Italian Renaissance painter and architect—who was a pupil and follower of Giotto (c. 1266-1337). He was the master’s most important student and was with Giotto’s workshop for twenty-four years.

Gaddi’s work was more detailed and therefore slightly less powerful than those of his teacher. However, his innovative spirit led him to experiments with the representation of light that are highly effective. Moreover, he eventually returned to the more simplified approach of Giotto, creating works on the walls of the refectory of Santa Croce (a Franciscan monastery in Florence) that are among his very best.

Detail of the above work (click photo for larger image)

For the end wall of their refectory the Franciscans commissioned Gaddi to paint a Last Supper, an appropriate subject for the friars' dining hall. Above that, the artist painted a Tree of Life, a devotional subject derived from the writings of the Franciscan Saint Bonaventure.To reinforce both its Franciscan and refectory context, the mystical tree is surrounded by a depiction of Saint Francis's stigmatisation and the upper left and three holy events that take palace at meals, including the penitential image of Mary Magdalen washing the feet of Christ with her tears at the lower right. The work is loaded with vigor and a rich iconographical scheme.