Simone Martini, << see MOH nay mahr TEE nee >> (about 1285-1344), was an Italian painter. He was born in Siena, a leading art center of the 1300’s. Simone’s colorful, decorative, yet realistic style ranks as the outstanding example of the Sienese school of painting.
In 1315, Simone painted The Virgin in Majesty, a fresco (painting on damp plaster) in the Siena city hall. This fresco honors the Virgin Mary, the patron saint of Siena. Perhaps Simone’s greatest work is the Annunciation (1333), a dramatic, richly colored altarpiece painted for the Siena cathedral.
From about 1340 until his death, Simone worked in Avignon, France, which was the home of the popes at that time. He painted many works for the Palace of the Popes there. These paintings helped shape the naturalistic style of such Flemish masters of the 1400’s as Robert Campin and Jan van Eyck.
