ROBERT THE WISE OF NAPLES, 1309-43A WISE KING: ROBERT AND THE ARTS
King Robert's 'wisdom' was most evident to his contempor-
aries in his patronage of letters and the fine arts. These activ-
ities were turned to the political advantage of the Angevin
royal house and, quite apart from Robert's genuine devotion
to the arts, his willingness to use his artists also as propagan-
dists sheds light on his policies. Robert's grandfather had
actively maintained the cultural patronage of the court of
Sicily, inherited from the Hohenstaufen and Normans. It
was the scale and fame of Robert's court excited special
admiration. The Angevins were known for their interest in
rich silks and damasks, expressive of their special royal dig-
nity and wealth. Robert sought to display the legitimacy of
his dynasty amid the counter-claims of his Aragonese rivals.
The most eloquent document of their political interest in
the fine arts is a painting by the eminent Sienese, Simone
Martini, dating to about 1317. Robert's eldest brother, the
saintly Louis of Toulouse, is shown conferring his crown on
Robert after his renunciation of the throne in favour of life
in the Franciscan order.:^11 Not merely Robert's own claim to
the throne of Sicily but that of the Angevin dynasty to rule in
southern Italy was enhanced by the presence of a saint in the
royal family. Can the Angevins be mere usurpers if the body
of StLouis of Toulouse works miracles? Giotto, the unrivalled
Florentine painter of the time, came to the Angevin court
too, and received a pension from King Robert.^32 Around
1330 he was at work on a series of paintings, sadly now lost,
showing the great classical and biblical heroes with their
wives or lovers: Paris and Helen of Troy, Aeneas and Dido,
Samson and Delilah.
Here were classical themes, with romantic overtones: the
subject of Giotto's work reflects the combination of French
'Gothic' cultural traditions, brought by Charles of Anjou
to Naples, with innovatory Italian styles and motifs. Many of
the great buildings of the Angevins in Naples are heavily
influenced by French Gothic architecture: the church of
- J. Gardner, 'Simone Martini's StLouis of Toulouse', Reading Medieval
Studies, vol. 1 (1975), pp. 16-29. - B. Cole, Giotto and Florentine painting, 1280-1375 (New York, 1976),
pp. 12-13.