Exorcism of the Demons at Arezzo

I'd have to say my favourite painting is Giotto’s Exorcism of the Demons at Arezzo. I first came across this painting last year in my Italian Studies class while we were learning about the origins of renaissance art. I took a particular liking to Giotto’s art and used this painting as my desktop background for quite a few months. I am drawn to artwork with interesting architecture and that is why this image stood out to me. This painting is one of the earliest attempts at showing depth and backgrounds and although it is a fairly poor attempt in doing so, the piece is still considered transformational. I realized, however, that I actually know very little about the story behind this painting, so I thought I would take the opportunity to learn more about what exactly is going on in this piece of art and why Giotto felt it was important.

After researching the fresco to find out further information, I realized that this painting is actually the tenth out of twenty-eight scenes in a series by Giotto called the Legend of St. Francis, which he painted in the Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi, Italy. Apparently during the lifetime of St. Francis, Arezzo was constantly experiencing conflict and civil unrest due to an “infestation” of demons that created fire and hatred within the hearts of the citizens. According to The Web Gallery of Art, during a civil war in the town of Arezzo, he arrived only to witness demons flying and dancing over and around the city. He summoned Brother Sylvester to drive them out, saying to him, "Go to the gate of the city, and in the name of Almighty God command the devils, in virtue of holy obedience, to depart immediately." In the painting, we can see St. Francis of Assisi kneeling on the ground in prayer, seemingly passing his strength to Brother Sylvester who has his arms extended in the direction of the demons as they flee away over the rooftops. We can also see anxious citizens of Arezzo peering through the city gates, watching as the exorcism takes place. According to the Manual of the Third Order of St. Francis, after Brother Sylvester performed this exorcism, the demons quickly moved on and the anger within the city was calmed.

St. Francis of Assisi is considered one of the most respected figures in Christian history. He lived between 1181 and 1226 in Italy and was named the patron saint of animals and the environment by Pope Gregory IX. In the Legend of St. Francis series, Giotto also depicts St. Francis amongst mountains and performing a sermon to the birds. In another portrait, St. Francis is pictured receiving the stigmata. He is allegedly the fist person to bear the wounds of Christ’s passion. With that in mind, in this 28 painting series, it appears that Giotto is trying to recreate prominent moments of St. Francis’ life in honour of his legacy and to educate Christians on his saintliness. Giotto painted these frescos between 1297 and 1300, a time where most people were illiterate and depended on paintings as a form of storytelling. Therefore, to understand the life and achievements of St. Francis, people would look to the meaning and story behind each painting.

The time period here is interesting to note. In the early 14^th century, the culture in Italy was still heavily dominated by religion. The renaissance would not fully begin until 1330, but we can still begin to see in Giotto’s painting the transitioning between the very traditional Byzantine art to the more realistic and dimensional art that characterized the renaissance. I remember reading that in Byzantine art, paintings had to be very one-dimensional and were intended to look abstract because it was looked down upon to try and reproduce the creations of God. Also, all art produced during this period, within the empire, was required to be religious. I would say that Giotto is following the Byzantine style by staying within the religious boundaries, however, he experiments with depth and spatial realism, which had never been done before. This new style of art is what Giotto is most celebrated for.