According to the Gospel narration, on the fourth day after the burial of Lazarus, whom Jesus loved very much, Christ came to Judah. The sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, implored Jesus to resurrect his brother, which he did. In its main features, this picture follows the traditions of Byzantine iconography. But Giotto concentrates on the dramatic nature of what is happening: with amazing accuracy, he conveys the shocked admiration and admiration of those present, their astonishment, indignation and fear, with which they perceived the miracle accomplished by Jesus.
Drama is pumped around the figures of Christ and Lazarus, standing at opposite ends of the picture. One radiates divine power and power, the other – a gray doll from the world of shadows. The views and movements of the elderly man and boy standing between them are opposite in direction and in terms of expressed feelings. A young man in pale green clothes looks into the face of the risen, with a look and his whole figure expressing extreme astonishment; his right hand, however, is stretched to Jesus, as if tracing the direction of the life-giving force emanating from him.
The elderly man in a yellow cloak, standing near Lazarus, is depicted abruptly in profile, looks at Jesus with an almost inquiring look, but his hands are directed towards Lazarus – he begins to untie the burial veil of the risen. On the right, the figures close the figures of the two men behind Lazarus, they cover their faces from the stench of the body that began to decay. Before them, two young men lay on the ground a stone slab that covered the entrance to the cave-crypt.
In the foreground, Mary and Martha, stretched out before Christ, are depicted, according to the content of their figures they represent the prehistory of the miracle, and in the composition plan a closer connection is made between Christ and Lazarus. Behind Christ stand apostles, in the foreground are figures of John and Peter numb at the sight of a miracle. Each character in the picture is written as a hero of the drama, and their ensemble creates an emotional fullness unknown earlier in the visual arts, dramatic tension, enhanced by colors and forms.
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