Uffizi: Sienese School of painting 14th Century I

The Sala del Trecento with Sienese Painters in the Uffizi

Simone Martini, Lippo Memmi, Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti: Sienese Painters in Room Three of the Uffizi

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi ‘Annunciation 1333

 Sala del Trecento with Sienese Painters in the Uffizi
Wikipedia

In this room of the museum, you can see the works from the Trecento by Sienese painters. Again, there are many altarpieces here. Contemporaries of Martini and Lorenzetti would find the arrangement in room three incomprehensible. The altarpieces on the white walls are completely stripped of their religious context and no longer invite personal prayer, nor are they part of the liturgy. Today’s museum visitor is often unaware that the panels meant much more to the faithful churchgoer of the past than just paintings of biblical stories.

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi ‘Annunciation’ 1333       Zoom in

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi 'Annunciation' 1333
photo Cathedral Siena: Mariano Mantel

Two altarpieces in this space come from the cathedral of Siena: ‘The Annunciation’ by Simone Martini from 1333 and ‘The Presentation in the Temple’ by Ambrogio Lorenzetti from 1342. These panels were part of a cycle of altarpieces in the fourteenth century, including the four panels that hung in chapels at the corners where the transept and aisles meet.

Ambrogio Lorenzetti’ ‘The Presentation in the Temple’ 1342

From left to right, these were the Chapel of San Savino with the altarpiece ‘The Birth of Mary’ by Pietro Lorenzetti from 1352 (now in the Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo in Siena); the Chapel of Saint Ansanus from 1433 with Simone Martini’s ‘The Annunciation’ (Uffizi); the Chapel of San Vittorio with Andrea di Bartolo’s ‘The Birth of Christ’ from 1351 (lost); and the Chapel of San Crescenzio with Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s ‘The Presentation in the Temple’ from 1342 (Uffizi). The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who is also the main theme of these altarpieces. The four patron saints of the city are depicted on the various altarpieces. The chapels are named after these saints and they can also be found on the main altar in the cathedral of Siena: the Maestà by Duccio (Web Gallery of Art); they are: Ansanus, Crescentius, Victor, and Savinus.

 Ambrogio Lorenzetti’ ‘Presentation in the Temple detail

Ambrogio Lorenzetti ‘Presentation in the Temple’       Zoom in

 Ambrogio Lorenzetti’ ‘Presentation in the Temple
photos: Steven Zucker

The Annunciation by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi

On the left panel of Martini’s Annunciation stands Ansanus the Baptist. On the bottom edge of the frame are the names of the painters Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, but the frame itself dates from the nineteenth century. Martini’s brother-in-law, Lippo Memmi, probably painted the right panel. It is unclear who the female saint is.

Duccio ‘Maestà’ front reconstruction      Reverse reconstruction

Duccio ‘Maestà’ front reconstruction
Web Gallery of Art and Wikipedia

The artists Simone Martini and Ambrogio Lorenzetti had to compete with an imposing masterpiece by Duccio painted about twenty years earlier and hung above the main altar in the cathedral: the Maestà (many images can be found at the Web Gallery of Art). An enormous altarpiece with paintings on both sides, which Simone Martini painted under Duccio’s direction.

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi ‘Annunciation’ 1333       Zoom in

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi 'Annunciation'

In the tondi at the top of the Annunciation, four prophets are depicted. From left to right, they are the prophets: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Daniel. They can be identified by the texts on the scrolls held by the figures. For instance, the text from Ezekiel 44:2 is paraphrased:

“And the LORD said to me: ‘This gate shall remain shut. It must not be opened, and no one may enter through it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. Therefore, it must remain shut.’ Regarding Jeremiah, the following reference to what is happening in the main panel can be read (Jeremiah 31:22):
How long will you wander,
unfaithful daughter Israel?
The LORD will create a new thing on earth:
the woman will return to the man.

In the central panel, the angel Gabriel is kneeling. From the way his garment is billowing and the position of his wings, it is evident that Gabriel has just landed. He holds an olive branch in his hand, symbolizing that he comes in peace. The olives reappear on his head, where he wears a narrow, small crown with jewels.

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi ‘Annunciation’

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi 'Annunciation' detail: Gabriel Mary
photos: Steven Zucker

From his open mouth come the words inscribed on the golden background:
AVE MARIA GRATIA PLENA DOMINUS TECUM
Hail Mary,
full of grace.
The Lord is with you.

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi 'Annunciation' detail: Gabriel

The Angel Gabriel

LENA DOMINUS TECUM
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you.

Maria’s mouth is closed; she has not yet given an answer. Her reaction does not seem submissive, but rather unwilling. Maria certainly does not look kindly at the angel Gabriel, she turns away from him. The message that follows after the first words are spoken can be read on the sleeve of the stole Gabriel is wearing, but has not yet been spoken.

NE (TI) MEAS (MARIA) ECCE C[ON]CIPIES IN (VTERO) SPIRITVS S[AN]C[TV]S SVP[ER]VENIET I[N]TE ET VIRTVS ALTIS (SIMI OBVMBRABIT TIBI)

In Luke 1:30-31, 35, the following is written about this:

Mary

But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. Listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi 'Annunciation' detail: Mary
photo: Steven Zucker

The Annunciation by Simone Martini is revolutionary. He painted a kneeling angel. Traditionally, Gabriel was depicted as a standing figure, as can be seen in the main altarpiece by Duccio.

Duccio Maestà ‘Annunciation’       Zoom in

Moreover, Martini also introduces the Trinity (God the Father in the upper tondo has disappeared). The Holy Spirit hovers surrounded by cherubim in the central panel below the tondo. Furthermore, we see the symbol of the incarnation and the text of Ave Maria. This gives the altarpiece a narrative content. The altarpiece not only served a function for the liturgy during the feasts for Mary or Saint Ansanus, but was also significant for personal devotion. The faithful could kneel before the altarpiece and recite the words of the Ave Maria.

In an altarpiece by the Master of Osservanza, Saint Anthony kneels before an altarpiece in the background in front of the main altar of the Cathedral of Siena. In the foreground, the chapel of Saint Ansanus is visible where Simone Martini’s altarpiece was hung. Initially, the artist did draw lines, probably to depict Martini’s Annunciation. Presumably, the painter refrained from this to keep the whole more readable and not to distract from the story about Saint Anthony.

Master of Osservanza ‘Saint Anthony is celebrating Mass’ c. 1435

Master of Osservanza 'Saint Anthony is celebrating Mass'
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie

Literature:
Frugioni, C., ‘Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti’, Scala, Institutio Fotografico Antella, Florence 1988 52-54
Janella, C., ‘Simone Martini’, Scala, Institutio Fotografico Antella, Florence 1989 67-70 Martindale, A., ‘Simone Martini’, Phaidon Press, Oxford 1988 187-190
Southe, K., ‘Simone Martini’s The Annunciation Altarpiece 1333′ paper, download here
Van Os, H., ‘Simone Martini’s Annunciation Revisited’, Forschungsberichte, vol. 63, aflevering 4 2010 156-165.
The literature that was not used but is of great importance for further study is a monograph on the Annunciation by Simone Martini, written following a major restoration in 2001: Cecchi. A., (ed) ‘Simone Martini e l’Annunciazone degli uffizi’, Cinisello Balsamo 2001.

Continuation Florence day 6: Uffizi: Sienese School of painting 14th Century II