Frescoes in the Church of San Francesco, Assisi

Giotto began his apprenticeship with Cimabue between the ages of ten and fourteen. A trip to Rome presumably rounded off the young painter's training, after which he followed his master to what was at that time the largest "building site" in Italy, the church of San Francesco in Assisi.

There, Cimabue was in charge of the decoration of the newly erected Upper Church. When he left Assisi to fulfil other obligations, several of his assistants and journeymen, including Giotto, stayed behind. At the same time, Roman painters, led by Jacopo Torriti, arrived in Assisi, so that several studio groups were working alongside one another. A short time later, Giotto became the independent leader of a workshop, and the Franciscan order assigned him the task of continuing with the decoration.

Reproductions of the frescoes in the Upper Church are listed in the Web Gallery of Art in sections of Cimabue, Giotto, Jacopo Torriti, Master of Saint Cecilia, Master of the Isaac Stories, and Unknown Italian Masters.