Simone Martini was famous during his lifetime not only in his hometown of Siena, where he was supposedly born. His clientele included aristocratic customers, and not only from Siena. The artist spent the second half of his life at the papal court in Avignon, where he died. There is a serious assumption that Martini collaborated with the Anjou dynasty that ruled in Naples, and perhaps one of the Dukes of Anjou even knighted him – a rare case for an artist. It is also known that the master was not only famous, but also very wealthy. Shortly before his death, he made a will, in which he listed property that even people of noble origin could envy.

Among this property are two houses, a large vineyard and a significant amount of money. Considering that the fees for works of art in the Renaissance were very modest, and many first-class painters experienced financial difficulties and were forced to engage in quasi-artistic or completely non-artistic activities (for example, gardening or making frames), then in this context the biography of Simone Martini looks more than successful. His financial well-being is also confirmed by the fact that on the eve of the wedding he gave his bride a solid sum for those times – 200 florins. Of course, not everyone could afford this.

There is very little information about Simone Martini. For example, we do not have exact data on the date of his birth. Only the date of his death is definitely known, 1344. Giorgio Vasari in his “Lives” reports that the artist died at the age of sixty. Based on this, the year of his birth is considered to be 1284. Martini’s place of birth was most likely Siena, although the artist did not spend his entire life in his hometown: he lived his last years in Avignon, sometimes traveling to other cities to fulfill orders.

We have practically no precise biographical information about the youth and even the first thirty years of Simone Martini. There is an assumption that his teacher was the famous Duccio, but there is no written evidence of this. This is a purely art historical conclusion made on the basis of an analysis of his early works, such as the composition “Madonna and Child”, known under the nickname “Madonna No. 583”, from the collection of the Siena Pinacoteca. Of course, this image has something in common with Duccio’s style. The style of the Virgin’s garments, the dark color of the robes covered with gold assisi, the type of the face, as well as the Byzantine-Gothic gold background – all this refers to the traditions of Duccio and Byzantine art of the late 12th century. Perhaps Simone Martini really studied with this great master.