Simone Martini must have seen paradise. At least that was Petrarch's verdict after seeing Martini's portrait of his beloved Laura. For in addition to her physical beauty, the painter had also captured her heavenly virtues. Who was this man with apparently almost supernatural abilities? Simone Martini was indeed one of the leading painters of the early 14th century. On the cusp of modern times, his art fed on the sources of the past and pointed ahead to what was to come. Martini lived in a time of artistic upheaval. For example, he was a contemporary of the Florentine sculptor and builder Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1447), who is credited with discovering perspective. According to a disputed rendering of an epitaph by Vasari, Simone Martini was born in Siena in 1284. According to custom, he joined the school of a master as an apprentice. Duccio di Buoninsegna is the most likely choice, although Renaissance sources also bring Giotto di Bondone into play. In any case, he was in exchange with the greats of his time.
In Martini's first secured work, the MaestĂ for the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena of 1315, he already confronts us as a painter of his own standing. His fame spread quickly and led him to Naples in 1317 as court painter to Robert of Anjou, where he painted the coronation of the king by his canonized brother Louis of Toulouse for San Lorenzo Maggiore. This was followed in 1322-1326 by a cycle of frescoes with scenes from the life of St. Martin for the Chapel of St. Martin in the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, in 1342 by the polyptych of the Passion for the Orsini family, and in 1329 by a depiction of Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the siege of Montemassi again in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. In 1335, Pope Benedict XII summoned Martini to Avignon to paint the chapel. Martini to Avignon to decorate the papal court with frescoes. It was at this time that he met Petrarch, who commissioned a portrait of Laura as well as the frontispiece for his edition of Servius' commentary on Virgil. The friendship between painting and poetry in the figure of the two men is a significant episode from the early period of humanism.
Martini's innovative power is already evident in the MaestĂ in Siena. Duccio's influence is still apparent, for example in the Byzantine influences taken from the Pisan school and Giotto. The work captivates with its light brushwork and fine, detailed execution in vivid and sumptuous color. The flowing Gothic forms from beyond the Alps, miniatures and the goldsmith's art left their impression, as did arabesque elements from the work of the Sienese sculptor Lorenzo Maitani or the painterly realism of Giotto. During his work in Avignon, Martini's oeuvre fused Italian and French styles into a new style of painting that became known as the School of Avignon. Simone Martini died highly respected in Avignon in 1344.
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_c_-_(MeisterDrucke-1002650).jpg "Guidoriccio da Fogliano by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Christ Discovered in the Temple by Simone Martini")
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 (detail of 50322) - (MeisterDrucke-58199).jpg "The Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Asano, detail of the Archangel Gabriel (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Saint Elizabeth of Hungary by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Annunciation 1333 by Simone Martini")
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 (detail of 58835) - (MeisterDrucke-43521).jpg "St. Augustine (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Guidoriccio da Fogliano by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Guido Riccio da Fogliano by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: St. Mark with the Lion, (detail) from the frame by Simone Martini")
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_crowning_his_brother_Robert_of_Anjou_(1278-1343)_-_(MeisterDrucke-111144).jpg "St. Louis of Toulouse crowning his brother, Robert of Anjou (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta, St. Michael (detail) by Simone Martini")
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 crowning his brother Robert of Anjou (1278-1343) from the Altar of St Louis of Toulouse 1317 (tempera on panel) - (MeisterDrucke-100562).jpg "St. Louis of Toulouse crowning his brother, Robert of Anjou, from the Altar of St. Louis of Toulouse, 1317 by Simone Martini")
 crowning his brother Robert of Anjou (1278-1343) from the Altar of St Louis of Toulouse 1317 (tempera on panel) - (MeisterDrucke-100562).jpg)
_-_Tempera_on_wood_-_(MeisterDrucke-973739).jpg "Annunciation (with Saint Judith and Saint Ansano) by Simone Martini")
_-_Tempera_on_wood_-_(MeisterDrucke-973739).jpg)
.jpg "The Soldiers")
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.jpg "Commemoration of Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the Siege of Montemassi (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Fresco of the Life of Saint Martin (Detail) by Simone Martini")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-961021).jpg "Polyptych Orsini: Christ Carrying the Cross by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Saint Louis Bishop of Toulouse Crowning His Brother Robert of Anjou, King of Naples by Simone Martini")
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_predel_-_(MeisterDrucke-103066).jpg "Curing the Sick on the Day of the Death of St. Louis of Toulouse (1274-97) Predella Panel from the Altar of St. Louis of Toulouse by Simone Martini")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-123591).jpg "The Annunciation with Two Saints and Four Prophets, 1333 by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Commemoration of Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the Siege of Montemassi (detail) by Simone Martini")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-64018).jpg "Polyptych of the Blessed Agostino Novello and Four Stories of His Life (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Virgin Annunciate, Right Hand Panel of Diptych by Simone Martini")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-139315).jpg "The Angel of the Annunciation by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Five Saints (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "The Annunciation by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: St. Matthew and the Angel (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "The Strike of the Lance (detail of the group around the Virgin) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Detail of musicians from the Life of St. Martin, c.1326 by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Commemoration at the Siege of Montemassi, 1328 by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Descent from the Cross by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "The Angel of the Annunciation by Simone Martini")
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_(see_also_195591)_-_(MeisterDrucke-318188).jpg "Tympanum depicting the Saviour Blessing (detail) by Simone Martini")
_(see_also_195591)_-_(MeisterDrucke-318188).jpg)
.jpg "Saint Francis of Assisi (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "The Blessed Agostino Novello Altarpiece, with four of his miracles by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: David (detail) by Simone Martini")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1658188).jpg "Annunciation, with Saints Asano and Margaret by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: Angel Offering Flowers to the Virgin: (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Tympanum depicting the Saviour Blessing, 1341 by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: Angel Offering Flowers to the Virgin, 1315 fresco (detail) by Simone Martini")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-131965).jpg "Madonna and Child by Simone Martini")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-115318).jpg "Saint Augustine, 1320s by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta, 1315 by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Peter of Verona. (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Madonna and Child (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: Two-faced Figure Representing Old Law and New Law: (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "The Death of St. Martin, from the Life of St. Martin by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Symbols of the Evangelists, Below San Ludovico di Tolosa by Simone Martini")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-230211).jpg "St. John the Evangelist by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: St. Augustine (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Saint Martin")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-923031).jpg "Madonna and Child by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Commemoration of Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the Siege of Montemassi, from the Sala del Mappamondo, 1328 by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Miracle of Baby Who Fell from Crib (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Altarpiece Entitled Blessed Agostino Novello and Stories of His Life (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "St. Martin")
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.jpg "Woman leaning over balcony (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: Christ Blessing (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "The Annunciation and Two Saints by Simone Martini")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-673830).jpg "Maesta: St. John the Evangelist, 1315 (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Saint Judas Thaddeus by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Saint Martin of Tours Renounces Arms (Fresco by Simone Martini) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Tympanum Depicting the Virgin of Humility with the Christ Child Surrounded by Angels by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: Perhaps St. Michael by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "The Annunciation by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Saint Francis, 1318 by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Detail of the military camp behind Guido Riccio da Fogliano, during the capture of the castle of Montemassi, in 1328 by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Virgin Annunciate by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Louis Serving the Monks at the Table (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Christ on the Cross,")
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.jpg "Madonna and Child by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "St Elizabeth of Hungary (Detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: Malachi (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "The Death of Saint Martin by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: St. John the Baptist: (detail) by Simone Martini")
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_Dim_03x0_-_(MeisterDrucke-1024521).jpg "The Carrying of the Cross by Simone Martini")
_Dim_03x0_-_(MeisterDrucke-1024521).jpg)
.jpg "Saint Francis of Assisi and St Louis of Toulouse by Simone Martini")
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_and_Cardinal_Gentile_of_Montefiore_(Gentile_P_-_(MeisterDrucke-988132).jpg "Saint Anthony of Padua and Cardinal Gentile of Montefiore Kneeling by Simone Martini")
_and_Cardinal_Gentile_of_Montefiore_(Gentile_P_-_(MeisterDrucke-988132).jpg)
.jpg "St. Geminianus (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Maesta: Isaac (detail) by Simone Martini")
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_Fresco_by_Simone_Martini_-_(MeisterDrucke-1002076).jpg "Saint Margarita of Antioch (formerly known as St. Clair) by Simone Martini")
_Fresco_by_Simone_Martini_-_(MeisterDrucke-1002076).jpg)
.jpg "Detail of the Central Rosette with Symbols of the Evangelists by Simone Martini")
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_crown_Robert_I_of_Naples_(1277-1343)_Painting_-_(MeisterDrucke-1021805).jpg "Saint Louis of Anjou crowns Robert I of Naples by Simone Martini")
_crown_Robert_I_of_Naples_(1277-1343)_Painting_-_(MeisterDrucke-1021805).jpg)
.jpg "The Italian monk Agostino Novello said he Panormitano and the representation of four of his miracles. From left to right and from top to bottom: the child attacks by a wolf, the knight falls into the ravine, the child falls from the balcony, the child fall by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "(Detail) of a Falconer from the Life of St. Martin, c.1326 by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Saint Augustine, 1320s by Simone Martini")
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_-_Basili_-_(MeisterDrucke-946153).jpg "Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Five Saints, (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Detail Showing St. Ludovico before Pope Boniface VIII from the Predella of St. Ludovico by Simone Martini")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-654402).jpg "Maesta: St. Andrew (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "The miracle of the child grabs between the fangs of a wolf (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Blessed Agostino Novello Altarpiece (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Agostino Novella Rescuing a Child Who Has Been Bitten by a Dog (detail) by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Fresco of the Life of Saint Martin. The Miraculous Mass of Saint Martin of Tours by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Pieta and Virgin and Child by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "St. Ladislas of Hungary by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Madonna and Child by Simone Martini")
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.jpg "Mary Magdalene by Simone Martini")
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