Simone Martini
born c. 1284, , Siena, Republic ofSiena
died 1344, Avignon, Provence
important exponent of Gothic painting who did more than
any other artist to spread the influence of Sienesepainting.
Martini was very possibly a pupil of Duccio di Buoninsegna, from
whom he probably inherited his love of harmonious, pure colours and
most of his early figure types. To these he added a gracefulness of
line and delicacy of interpretation that were inspired by French
Gothic works that the young artist studiedin Italy. He carried to
perfection the decorative line of the Gothic style and subordinated
volume to the rhythm of this line.
Simone's earliest documented painting is the large fresco of the
“Maesta” in the Sala del Mappamondo of the Palazzo Pubblico,
Siena. The fresco depicts the enthroned Madonna and Child with
angels and saints. This painting, which is signed and dated 1315 but
was retouched by Simone himself in 1321, is a free version of
Duccio's “Maestą” of 1308–11. But the hierarchic structure of
Duccio's work has been replaced by a growing interest in illusionary
perspective, and the abstract character and lack of setting ofthe
earlier work has given way to concrete concepts: Simone's Virgin,
crowned and splendidly attired, is a Gothic queen who holds court
beneath a Gothic canopy.
About 1317 the artist painted, in Naples, the highly spiritual
altarpiece “St. Louis of Toulouse Crowning His Brother, King
Robert of Anjou.” Two years later he composed for the Church of
Santa Caterina, Pisa, a colouristically magnificent Madonna
polyptych. Perhaps in the middle of the 1320s he began the 10
scenes, full of chivalrous ideals, from the life of St. Martin of
Tours in this saint's chapel in the lower Church of San
Francesco, Assisi. His equestrian portrait (1328) representing
Guidoriccio da Fogliano, general of the Sienese republic, was
perhaps the first Sienese work of art that did not serve a religious
purpose. It was also an important precedent for the numerous
equestrian portraits of the Renaissance. On the other hand, the
“Annunciation” triptych, painted for the Siena Cathedral, but now in
the Uffizi, Florence, is deliberately unreal. Simone signed this
work in 1333 with his brother-in-law, the Sienese painter Lippo
Memmi, an associate for many years. The exquisite rhythm of the
lines and dematerialized forms of Gabriel and Mary in the central
portion of the “Annunciation” led a number of artists to imitation,
but none of them achieved such vibrant contours and such spirited
forms as did Simone in this greatmasterpiece.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica)
