Final answer:
Giotto's 'The Lamentation' does not use gold paint as the predominant background but applies it to add depth and highlight figures, creating emotional and naturalistic effects unlike the flat gold backgrounds common in Byzantine works.
Step-by-step explanation:
The use of gold paint/pigment in Gothic style is a significant feature in medieval and renaissance art. In Giotto's "The Lamentation," gold is used differently than in the Byzantine tradition where scenes were often set against a solid gold background. Instead of utilizing gold as the primary background, Giotto employs fresco to create a more naturalistic environment with a green ground, tan hills, and a deep blue sky that draws the viewer's attention towards the central figures and enhances the dramatic emotion of the scene.
His influence is noted in the works of later artists like Masaccio, who took these artistic innovations even further. However, Giotto's style still represented a departure from previous traditions, introducing more expressive figures and a move away from the flat, gold-encrusted backgrounds typical of Byzantine art to a more three-dimensional representation.