Simone Martini

Simone Martini’s paintings bring precise drawing and rich detail to the sacred subjects of fourteenth-century Siena. His Maestà in the Palazzo Pubblico places the Virgin and Child at the center of a monumental image made for the city’s government. The Annunciation, painted with Lippo Memmi, uses drapery and exchanged gestures to give a biblical encounter its dramatic shape. Gold grounds and delicate ornament connect these narratives with the materials and devotional purposes of Sienese panel painting.