At this period, however seldom he may have visited Avignon, he evidently sought rather to cherish than subdue his fatal attachment.

A celebrated painter, Simone Martini of Siena, came to Avignon.

He was the pupil of Giotto, not exquisite in drawing, but famous for taking spirited likenesses.
Petrarch persuaded Simone to favour him with a miniature likeness of Laura; and this treasure the poet for ever carried about with him.

In gratitude he addressed two sonnets to the artist, whose fame, great as it was, was heightened by the poetical reward.

Vasari tells us that Simone also painted the pictures of both lovers in the chapel of St.
Maria Novella at Florence; that Simone was a sculptor as well as a painter, and that he copied those pictures in marbles which, according to Baldelli, are still extant in the house of the Signore Pruzzi.
An anecdote relating to this period of Petrarch's life is given by De Sade, which, if accepted with entire credence, must inspire us with astonishment at the poet's devotion to his literary pursuits.