ST. LOUIS OF TOULOUSE ON THE THRONE
Language: English / USA
An absolute masterpiece of international Gothic painting is the large, shining panel by Simone Martini depicting St. Louis of Toulouse on the Throne.
In 1317 the Sienese painter was named a Knight by the King of Naples, Robert of Anjou: the panel apparently celebrates a saint who had been canonized that same year, but as Louis was the heir to the throne and had abdicated in favor of his brother Robert, the painting is actually a political manifesto that aims to legitimize the Angevin power. Never has a painting had such an explicit aim of propaganda. In fact, you can see Robert together with the saint in the act of receiving the crown from Louis's hands: just think, this is the first realistic portrait of a living character in Italian painting!
