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Simone MartiniItalian painter of the early period of the Renaissance - Proto-Renaissance.
Country:
 Italy |
Content:
Biography of Simone Martini
Simone Martini was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance period, also known as the Proto-Renaissance. He was the leading master of Sienese painting and worked in Siena, Assisi, Naples at the court of King Robert of Anjou, and in his later years, at the papal court in Avignon, where he became friends with Petrarch. It is likely that he was a student of Duccio di Buoninsegna, a prominent painter of the time and the founder of the Sienese school. In 1340, he received an invitation from Pope Benedict XII and moved to Avignon, where the papal throne was located at that time.
Influence of Gothic Art
Both his teacher and Gothic art strongly influenced his painting, which later evolved into the so-called International Gothic style. Simone Martini was also renowned as an excellent portraitist. Pandolfo Malatesta of the Italian noble Malatesta family commissioned him to paint a portrait of Petrarch, and at Petrarch's request, Martini painted a portrait of Laura, which the patron was extremely pleased with. In 1340, the papal curia even recognized him as the official representative of the Sienese church. Simone Martini worked in Siena, Naples (at the court of Neapolitan king Robert of Anjou, where he was knighted around 1317), Orvieto, Assisi, and Avignon, where he passed away, not living long enough to witness the "Black Death" four years later.
Notable Works
Some of Simone Martini's notable works include the Maestà at Palazzo Pubblico in Siena (1315-1316), the Annunciation at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence (1333), and the fresco of "Saint Louis of Toulouse Crowning Robert of Naples" at the National Museum and Gallery of Capodimonte in Naples. He also painted scenes from the life of Saint Martin of Tours (commissioned by Robert of Anjou) in the chapel of the church of San Francesco in Assisi (1326). Other works include the portrait of Guidoriccio da Fogliano at Palazzo Pubblico in Siena (1328) and the Annunciation, painted in collaboration with his student Lippo Memmi, at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence (1333). Additionally, he created a frontispiece for a manuscript of Virgil that belonged to Petrarch, which is now housed in the Ambrosian Library in Milan (circa 1340).
