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The "Babylonian exile" of the popes (1309-1376) transformed the previously somewhat insignificant city of Avignon into the most magnificent residence in Europe. A huge papal palace was built which was decorated by artists from Italy and specifically Siena, with none less than Simone Martini at their head. The surviving murals convey a unique impression of a court of the day The preference for motifs taken from the animal and plant kingdoms reaches its high point in the pope's favourite relaxation room, the Deer Room, a testament to the nobility's passion for hunting. It is the oldest representation of Nature on such a grand scale, of such ambition, and with such fidelity to life.
The chief surviving paintings by this workshop are the frescos of various hunting scenes which decorate the Deer Room in the Tour de la Garde-Robe, built in 1342/43 under Pope Clement VI, in the Papal Palace in Avignon. The style of the paintings suggests that they were designed by Italians, while their execution was probably entrusted to French assistants. The master in charge may possibly be identical with Matteo di Giovanetto da Viterbo, who was the current court painter to the Pope.
Hunting with falcons, ferrets and decoy birds, and scenes of bathing and harvesting, are interwoven with individual trees and plants in a rich tapestry extending across all four walls. The only wall uninterrupted by doors or windows is dominated by a large pool rendered in a perspective fashion, around which various different means of fishing are portrayed. As in the case of the birds and plants, we are shown a wealth of different species of fish; there is even a dolphin.
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