Saint Francis of Assisi
Bastia, near Assisi, early 16th century
Fresco, transferred to canvas in the 19th century
Saint Francis (about 1181-1226) is shown in the habit of the religious order he formed, the Friars Minor.
He displays the stigmata, the scars corresponding to the five wounds of the crucified Christ. Francis’s gentle face is based on Cimabue’s image of the saint from the late 13th century.
The fresco is one of three in the collection which were detached from the walls of a church in Bastia. Francis originally stood next to Saint Clare flanking the Virgin and Child, with Saints Sebastian and Ansanus on the other side.
Purchased 1944 (No.44.4c)
