However , many scholars today tend to discount Vasari 's claim by citing earlier sources that suggest otherwise .
According to Italian painter and historian Giorgio Vasari , Cimabue was the teacher of Giotto , the first great artist of the Italian Proto - Renaissance .
Many scholars today tend to discount historian 's claim by citing earlier sources that suggest otherwise .
According to Italian painter and historian Giorgio Vasari , Cimabue was the teacher of Giotto , the first great artist of the Italian Proto - Renaissance .