Art Cimabue's late Byzantine painting Madonna and Child Enthroned is on the surface and in many respects similar to Giotto's early Renaissance painting Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints. In fact, only a generation or two separated these two painters. Cimabue painted his Maesta from 1280 and finished in 1285, whereas Giotto worked between 1305 and 1310 on the Ognissanti Madonna. Within this 40-year time span, great changes were taking place in Italian art as well as history and culture in general. These changes become evident when analyzing the differences between Cimabue's and Giotto's differing renditions of the Madonna enthroned. In particular, Giotto's painting whispers of the emerging naturalism and realism that would become hallmarks of the Renaissance.

The Byzantine style can be described fairly as being two-dimensional in scope, as the human figures are rendered flatly on the canvas. Moreover, one of the distinguishing features of Byzantine art is the liberal use of gold even in the tempera paintings like that of Cimabue. In Cimabue's Madonna and Child Enthroned, gold is the predominant hue, with deep reds and blues comprising the remainder of the tempera paint palette. Another defining feature of Byzantine art, besides the almost exclusively Christian subject matter, is the heavy reliance on circular halos surrounding the rounded heads of all the figures depicted in the composition.

Specific techniques used to develop naturalism in painting include chiaroscuro, which is the deft use of light and shadow on the canvas. Although Giotto had yet to master chiaroscuro in Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, the painting appears to have more depth than Cimabue's does. The greater depth is evident in the human figures of Madonna, the Christ child, and the angels, but also in the architectural elements of the throne.
In spite of their core differences, these two paintings share many elements in common in addition to the identical subject matter. Both Cimabue's and Giotto's paintings are rendered on a canvas shaped like a pentagon. Gold is the common thread in each artist's palette. Halos are used to surround the key figures.

However, a quick glance at the primary subject reveals the emergence of the Renaissance in Giotto's painting. Giotto's Madonna is the focal point; whereas for Cimabue, it is the Christ child. Several formal elements show how and why this is true. In Cimabue's painting, the Madonna's hand is prominently placed so that the fingers form a distinct cross, providing the horizontal plane of the painting. Cimabue's Madonna points to the child, directing the viewer's eye to the baby. Mary…