The portraits celebrate Black women, from fighters in African revolutions to the author Octavia E. Her portraits, made entirely in gold, reflect light in a beautiful and intentional way that requires viewers to come close to absorb all the delicate details. Waddell, who has been an artist-in-residence at the Gardner Museum, innovates the medium of gold with tools, as Martini did, but to very different uses. Courtesy of Candice Madey, New York and the artist. 22 karat gold leaf on linen, 121.9 x 91.4 cm (48 x 36 in.).© Stacy Lynn Waddell. 1966, US), Young Woman Holding A Flower (for M. The current exhibition provides viewers an opportunity to see several Martini works, two from the Gardner collection, up close and in new light. The artist mastered ways to manipulate the gold to illustrate shading, texture and symbolism around the saints he portrayed.

In his time, Martini was on the forefront of the use of gold as a medium.

Gardner was the first art collector to bring his work from Italy to the United States, and the museum still owns the only Martini altarpiece outside Italy. Martini’s 14th-century works were heralded for their technical innovation and beauty. “Together, these exquisite paintings, which shimmer with precious metal, inspire us to ask profound questions about who and what we honor, then and now.” “We are delighted to bring together this unprecedented gathering of Simone Martini’s work with the more recent accomplishments of three important artists of our time,” says Peggy Fogelman, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Norma Jean Calderwood director.

1284-1344, Italy), Virgin and Child with Saints, about 1320.

Saint portraits