Annunciation Triptych (Simone Martini)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Annunciation with Saint Margaret and Saint Ansanus'' is a painting by the Italian Gothic artists Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, now housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. It is a wooden triptych painted in tempera and gold, with a central panel having double size. Considered Martini's masterwork and one of the most outstanding works of
Gothic painting Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and ...
, the work was originally painted for a side altar in Siena Cathedral.


History

The painting originally decorated the altar of Saint Ansanus in the Cathedral of Siena, and had been commissioned as part of a cycle of four altarpieces dedicated to the city's patron saints during 1330–1350. These included the ''
Presentation at the Temple The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (or ''in the temple'') is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem, that is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, ...
'' by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1342; at the altar of Saint Crescentius), the '' Nativity of the Virgin'' by Pietro Lorenzetti (1342; at the altar of Saint Sabinus), and a ''Nativity'', now disassembled, attributed to Bartolomeo Bulgarini (1351; at the altar of Saint Victor). All the paintings represent episodes in the Life of the Virgin, and were crowned by Duccio di Buoninsegna's '' Maestà''. The artists' use of expensive lacquer, extensive gold leafing and the difficult to obtain lapis lazuli in the painting demonstrates the communal prestige of the commission. The date of the painting is given in a fragment of the original frame, now embedded in the 19th-century renovation. It lists the names of Simone Martini and his brother-in-law Lippo Memmi (), although it is not known which parts were executed by which artist. A hypothesis is that Martini painted the central panel, while Memmi was responsible for the side saints and the tondi with prophets in the upper part. The work, in both size and style, has no similarities with any other contemporary painting in Italy. It can be compared instead to French illuminated manuscripts of that time, as well as to paintings from Germany or England. His "northern European" style granted Martini a call from the papal court in
Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
, where there were Italian but no Florentine painters, as the
Giottesque Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...
classical manner was met with little interest by the Gothic culture of the area. The painting remained in the cathedral until 1799, when Grand Duke
Peter Leopold , house =Habsburg-Lorraine , father =Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of Hungary and Bohemia , religion =Roman Catholicism , succession1 =Grand Duke of Tuscany , reign1 =18 Au ...
had it moved to Florence in exchange of two canvasses by Luca Giordano. The original frame, carved by Paolo di Camporegio and gilt by Memmi, was renovated in 1420 and replaced by a modern frame in the 19th century.


Description

The work is composed of a large central panel depicting the
Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
, and two side panels with Saint Ansanus (left), and female saint, generarally identified as Saint MaximaPage at Florence museums website
/ref> or Saint Margaret, in the right, and four tondi in the cusps: Jeremiah,
Ezekiel Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknow ...
, Isaiah and
Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
. The ''Annunciation'' shows the archangel Gabriel entering the house of the Virgin Mary to tell her that she will soon bear the child Jesus, whose name means 'savior'. Gabriel holds an olive branch in his hand, a traditional symbol of peace, while pointing at the Holy Ghost's dove with the other. The dove is descending from heaven, from the center of the mandorla of eight angels above, about to enter the Virgin's right ear. In fact, along the path of the dove, viewers see Gabriel's utterance: ('Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.'). The angel's mantle shows a detailed "tartar cloth" pattern and fine gilt feathers. Mary, sitting on a throne, is portrayed at the moment that she is startled out of her reading, reacting with a graceful and composed reluctance, looking with surprise at the celestial messenger. Her dress has an arabesque-like pattern. At the sides, the two saints are separated from the central scene by two decorate twisting columns. The background, completely gilt, has a vase of lilies, an allegory of purity often associated with the Virgin Mary. The use of a Gothic line, plus such realistic elements as the book, the vase, the throne, the pavement in perspective, the realistic action of the two figures and their subtle nuances of character are a substantial detachment from the two-dimensionality typical of Byzantine art.


References


Notes


General references

*


External links

*
High resolution image
via the Google Art Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Annunciation with Saint Margaret and Saint Ansanus Paintings of the Annunciation Triptychs 1330s paintings Paintings in the Uffizi Gold ground paintings Paintings of Margaret the Virgin