Virgin and Child with Saints
painter
Simone Martini
(Siena, about 1284 - 1344, Avignon)
Dateabout 1320
Place MadeSiena, Tuscany, Italy, Europe
MediumGold and tempera on panel
Dimensions131 x 274.3 cm (51 9/16 x 108 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP15e4.1-5
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentarySimone Martini achieved unprecedented fame in his own lifetime. This is his largest surviving work outside of Italy and one of the earliest altarpieces in the museum. Delicate and otherworldly, with its finely tooled gold background, this polyptych (a multi-paneled altarpiece) comes from the Church of the Servites in Orvieto, Italy. Above the Virgin and Child is a victorious and blessing Christ, displaying his wounds; the saints to either side carry identifying attributes. On the pinnacles above the saints, angels hold symbols of the Crucifixion and summon the Last Judgment with their trumpets. Once again, this acquisition showed that Gardner was ahead of the curve; it was one of two paintings by Simone Martini in her museum, the debut works by this artist to enter a United States collection.
Id722204
Last Updated8/9/24
Original NumberP15e4
EmbARK ObjectID10789
Source ID58
Andrea Mantegna
about 1497-1500
