Final answer:
Giotto di Bondone is best known for creating paintings that depicted three-dimensional figures with a sense of depth, a feature absent in the work of his medieval predecessors and marking a significant advancement in painting.
Step-by-step explanation:
The artistic achievement of Giotto di Bondone that best identifies his contribution to the field is D. His paintings showed more depth than those of his medieval predecessors. Giotto's style represented a departure from the Byzantine tradition, as he incorporated techniques like foreshortening and chiaroscuro to create a sense of depth and realism in his figures. His use of these techniques, along with his depiction of expressive, three-dimensional figures, marked a significant advancement in the portrayal of space and form in painting, heralding the onset of the Early Renaissance.
Giotto's frescoes, particularly those in the Arena Chapel commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni, are illustrative of these advancements. He told the stories of Christ and his parents through images that were designed to be intelligible to an illiterate population, thereby serving both a religious and an educational purpose. His approach to painting also influenced other artists such as Masaccio, who further developed these techniques in their own work. This transition towards a more naturalistic and realistic representation of human figures and space was a watershed moment in the history of art. Indeed, Giotto's impact on art history is such that he is often revered as the forerunner of the Renaissance.