Altarpiece of the Cappella dei Signori (1326)
by SIMONE MARTINI

For this altarpiece the painter was paid in 1326: it was executed for the residence of the Capitano del Popolo and only later - after 1405 - was placed on the altar of the sumptuous Cappella dei Signori on the first floor of the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, next to the famous Sala del Mappamondo. It included the figures of St Peter and St Ansano, the protector of the city of Siena (on the left), the Virgin with Child (at the centre) and the figures of St Andrew and St Luke (on the right). The five panels composed a polyptych of a rather unsual shape, with the central panel of the same size as the side panels, and with each element independently framed.

In the fifteenth century, Sano di Pietro painted five panels with Stories from the Life of the Virgin, which were placed as a predella below each of the panels by Simone Martini. The altarpiece of the Cappella dei Signori was disassembled in 1686, the panels are now in various museums.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
St Ansanus
c. 1326
Tempera on wood, gold ground, 58 x 38 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

987*1400
True Color
252 Kb



St Peter
c. 1326
Tempera and gold on panel, 58 x 39 cm
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

939*1400
True Color
228 Kb



Madonna and Child
c. 1326
Tempera on wood, gold ground, 59 x 39 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

927*1300
True Color
245 Kb



St Andrew
c. 1326
Tempera on wood, gold ground, 57 x 38 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

947*1400
True Color
230 Kb



St Andrew
c. 1326
Tempera on wood, gold ground, 57 x 38 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

770*1165
True Color
183 Kb



St Luke
c. 1330
Panel
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

806*1200
True Color
100 Kb




Summary of paintings by Simone Martini
Early works | The Maestŕ | Frescoes in the Lower Church, Assisi
Guidoriccio da Fogliano | The Annunciations | Last works
Altarpieces
Altar of St Louis of Toulouse | Cambridge Altarpiece | Pisa Polyptych
Orvieto Polyptych | Agostino Novello Altarpiece | Orsini Polyptych
Altarpiece of the Cappella dei Signori