Saint Francis of Assisi
unknown (Italian School)
Basic information
- ID
- Ж-2004
- Author
- unknown (Italian School)
- Name
- Saint Francis of Assisi
- Date of creation
- 18th c.
- Country
- Italy
- Technique
- oil painting
- Material
- wood oil
- Dimensions (height x width, cm)
- 66 x 54.5
Additionally
- Type
- painting
- Genre
- religious
- Plot
- Life of Saint Francis of Assisi
- Provenance
- Collection of Leon Pininski
- Exposition
- Potocki Palace
Information about author
Object description
Saint Francis of Assisi is kneeling in a landscape, raising his hands in prayer and gazing at a vision of Christ hovering in the sky, depicted with six seraphim wings. The rays from Christ's stigmata – the wounds received during the Crucifixion – are reflected onto Francis, marking him with the same wounds. Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Christian friar, missionary, and the founder of the Franciscan Order. In 1209, he established the Franciscan monks' rules and code of conduct. In 1219, he took part in the Fifth Crusade, reaching Egypt, where he preached to the sultan. The stigmatisation, the culminating miracle of Francis's life, occurred in 1224. According to his biography, the saint spent 40 days fasting and praying on a mountain near Arezzo. One morning, while praying, he envisioned seraphim embracing the crucified Christ. When the vision vanished, the saint discovered that nails seemed to protrude from his hands and feet, and a bleeding wound appeared in his side – symbols of his spiritual transformation. Francis hid his stigmata from those around him and sought to influence people through the example of his own piety and prayers. This painting depicting the life of Saint Francis was likely intended for an altar. The composition is traditional, as evidenced by the saint's posture, the seraph, and the depiction of Brother Leo, the figure seated on the ground to the left.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
