Plik:19494-st-martin-is-knighted-simone-martini.jpg

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

St. Martin is Knighted (detail) 1312-17 Fresco, 100 x 82 cm (size of detail) Cappella di San Martino, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi

In this detail of the larger fresco, a group of musicians and singers accompany a secular event: the knighting of the young St. Martin. This explains the presence in this picture of the profane double recorder which the Christian church initially rejected. Although we cannot be certain how familiar the painter may have been with the method of playing, from the picture it appears that identical melodies are being played on both recorders, as indicated by the position of the player's hands. The other musician uses a plectrum to play the small, pear-shaped, inlaid lute, while visibly paying attention to his colleagues behind him.

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Author: SIMONE MARTINI Title: St. Martin is Knighted (detail) Time-line: 1301-1350 School: Italian Form: painting