Giotto's "Angel" Die-Cut Notecard with Stickers

• Includes envelope and sticker sheet

• Product type: Blank Note Card
• Shipping Dimensions: 8.75 × 4.0
  (22.2 × 10.2 cm)
• Shipping Weight: 0.13 lb (2.0 oz; 57 g)
• SKU010003953 | UPC: 814229005827

Giotto di Bondone (1266/7-1337) was an Italian painter and architect who is often referred to as the "Father of Western Painting." Born in the village of Vespignano near Florence, Giotto revolutionized the art of his time and laid the foundations for the Italian Renaissance.

Giotto's frescoes, particularly those in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, are renowned for their naturalism and emotional depth. He broke away from the stiff and stylized Byzantine tradition, introducing a more realistic and humanistic approach to painting. Giotto's ability to depict three-dimensional figures with lifelike expressions and gestures set a new standard in art.

His contributions extended beyond painting, as Giotto was also an accomplished architect. He designed the bell tower of the Florence Cathedral, known as Giotto's Campanile, which stands as a masterpiece of Gothic architecture.

Giotto's artistic achievements had a profound impact on subsequent generations of artists, influencing the likes of Masaccio, Michelangelo, and Raphael. His emphasis on naturalism and the depiction of human emotion helped pave the way for the artistic innovations of the Renaissance. Giotto's legacy endures as a testament to his skill, vision, and lasting influence on the course of Western art history.

The origins of the Unemployed Philosophers Guild are shrouded in mystery. Some accounts trace the Guild's birth to Athens in the latter half of the 4th century BCE. Allegedly, several lesser philosophers grew weary of the endless Socratic dialogue endemic in their trade and turned to crafting household implements and playthings. (Hence the assertions that Socrates quaffed his hemlock poison from a Guild-designed chalice, though vigorous debate surrounds the question of whether it was a "disappearing" chalice.)

Others argue that the UPG dates from the High Middle Ages, when the Philosophers Guild entered the world of commerce by selling bawdy pamphlets to pilgrims facing long lines for the restroom. Business boomed until 1211 when Pope Innocent III condemned the publications. Not surprisingly, this led to increased sales, even as half our membership was burned at the stake.

More recently, revisionist historians have pinpointed the birth of the Guild to the time it was still cool to live in New York City's Lower East Side. Two brothers turned their inner creativity and love of paying rent towards fulfilling the people's needs for finger puppets, warm slippers, coffee cups, and cracking up at stuff.

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