For the first time in history an artist becomes a public figure. Before Giotto nobody really cared about preserving the name of masters that were considered more as artisans than famous individuals. The people of Florence were proud of Giotto. Famous writers like Dante wrote about him. In 1490, a sculptor, Benedetto da Maiano immortalized him in a medallion.

This marble medallion located a dozen feet above the ground in the nave of the cathedral of Florence, was ordered by Lorenzo de Medici. This portrait of Giotto represents him designing a mosaic, an art that he practiced in Rome. But Giotto is mostly known for his frescoes [more on Frescoes] and his design of the campanile of the cathedral of Florence.

Benedetto da Maiano was the master who later guided Michelangelo's first venture into marble.