Round as Giotto'S O

Giotto (1276-1336) was a shepherd-boy near Florence, Italy, and from this lowly position he rose to eminence as a painter, sculptor and architect. While yet in the neighborhood of Florence, his local reputation attracted the attention of Cimabue, then on the lookout for artists to adorn churches and cathedrals for Pope Boniface VIII.

Requiring Giotto to give some evidence of his skill as painter and draughtsman, the story goes that Cimabue was astonished by Giotto at once and offhand drawing an O so nearly circular as to be marvellous. Hence the Italian by-word, "round as Giotto's O," by which is now meant any act that approaches perfection.