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!
