MARTINI, SIMONE, wrongly called SIMONE MEMMI (1284-1344). The chief painter of the early Sienese school. of his life we know that lie was born in Siena, and that he painted frescoes in the churches and public buildings of Siena. Assisi. Naples, and Orvieto. In 1339 he was called by Benedict X11. to the l'apal Court at Avignon, where he worked with his brother Donato in the decoration of the Papal palace. He died at Avignon in 1344. With the exception of a few portraits. his sub jects were drawn from Bible stories and legends of the saints and of the early Church. His work is arranged with a view to decorative effect and is charming in finish and coloring, but the faces have the old conventional expression of mouth and eves and lack the character of Giotto.
In siena his important work is a large wall paintin?? in the Palazzo Publ.)lieu, the Madonna, surrounded by saints and angels (1315). On the wall opposite this painting is an equestrian por trait of a Sienese captain at arms. Guidorievio Fogliano. An altarpiece which was formerly in the
Siena Cathedral, "The (1333), was painted by Simone in collaboration with 1.01,1)0 Menuni, and is now in the Uffizi Gallery at Florence. In the Chapel of Saint Martin at Assisi are ten pictures of the legends of the saints. In Naples at the Chureh of San Lorenzo is a fresco. "Saint Louis Of fl'Oimien,:e Crowning his Brother (1324 I, painted when the church was completed by King Robert I. At Avignon there are fragments of his work in the Papal palace, and in the Chapel of Saint John there are frescoes illustrative of the life of that saint. llis other works include: "The Way to 113331, in the Louvre: "C'hrist Bless ing." in the Vatican; and "Christ Returning to his Parents," in the 'loyal Institution, Liverpool. Consult: Crowe and Cavaleaselle, History of Painting in ltalp (London, 1864) ; Berenson, ntral Italian Paintcrs of the Renaissance (New York, 1897).