SIMONE MARTINI
(b. 1280/85, Siena, d. 1344, Avignon)

Consecration of the Chapel

1320-25
Fresco, 330 x 700 cm
Cappella di San Martino, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi

Next to the eight saints on the underside of the arch, on the entrance wall inside the chapel we find the scene of the Consecration of the Chapel. A mood of deep humility pervades the whole scene and provides the psychological link between the two characters: Cardinal Gentile is shown in humble adoration at the feet of St Martin who is gently helping him to get up. The very ecclesiastical setting, depicted in a perspective seen from below consists of a splendid ciborium, a Gothic construction with a trefoiled ogival arch and corner pinnacles, and a polychrome marble balustrade in the background.