Focus on this artwork and analyze the History.
The painting originally decorated the altar of St. Sabinus in the Cathedral of Siena, and had been commissioned as part of a cycle of four altarpieces dedicated to the city's patrons saints (St. Ansanus, St. Sabinus of Spoleto, St. Crescentius and St. Victor) during 1330–1350. These included the Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, the Presentation at the Temple by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (1342, altar of St. Crescentius), and a Nativity, now disassembled, attributed to Bartolomeo Bulgarini from 1351 (altar of St. Victor). All the paintings should represent stories of the Life of the Madonna, and were crowned by Duccio di Buoninsegna's Maestà.
St. Ansanus Lippo Memmi St. Sabinus of Spoleto Ansanus Lorenzetti Maestà St. Crescentius Duccio Sabinus of Spoleto Duccio di Buoninsegna Ambrogio Lorenzetti Siena Simone Martini Bartolomeo Bulgarini Cathedral of Siena Annunciation with St. Margaret and St. Ansanus Presentation at the Temple