Non solo arte blog

From:

Stories Of The Italian Artists From Vasari (1908), by L. E. Seeley.

THE great flood of misfortunes, by which poor
Italy had been afflicted and overwhelmed, had
not only reduced to ruins all buildings of note
throughout the land, but what was of far more
importance, had caused an utter lack of the very
artists themselves. At this time, when the supply
seemed entirely exhausted, in the year 1 240, by
the will of God, there was born in the city of
Florence, Giovanni, surnamed Cimabue, of the
noble family of that name, who was to shed the
first light on the art of painting. He, as he
grew, being judged by his father and others to
possess a fine acute intellect, was sent to S. Maria
Novella to be instructed in letters by a relative of
his who taught grammar to the novices of that
convent. But instead of attending to his lessons,
Cimabue spent all the day in painting on his
books and papers, men, horses, houses, and such things.