Simone Martini in Orvieto

Painter to popes, princes, and scions of Renaissance dynasties, Simone Martini (ca. 1284–1344) transformed Western painting with his groundbreaking devotional images and masterful manipulation of gold. This beautifully illustrated book highlights the astonishing novelty of his paintings in terms of their construction, multimedia techniques, and imagery. A focus of the book—the first on Simone Martini in English in over thirty years—is the work that he produced for churches in the Umbrian city of Orvieto, a papal refuge and stronghold of the Guelph political faction. The publication sheds light on Simone’s early career and technical accomplishments with extended catalogue entries for three Orvieto altarpieces and a painting of private devotion, including the results of new scientific analysis for the Gardner works. Leading scholars consider Simone’s patrons, artistic accomplishments, and contributions to the development of the polyptych altarpiece.