Stigmata of St. Francis (Giotto)
Encyclopedia
The Stigmata of St. Francis is a painting by the Italian artist Giotto, painted around 1295-1300 and housed in Musée du Louvre of Paris
, France
.
mentions the work in a transept chapel of the church of San Francesco in Pisa
. Despite having been disputed, the work is now generally recognized to be by Giotto, being also signed; it has been dated from shortly before or later the Stories of St. Francis in Assisi
, around 1295-1300.
It was acquired by the Louvre in 1813, as part of the Napoleonic spoiling of artworks in Italy, together with Cimabue
's Maestà
, also from San Francesco.
.
The predella
shows three scenes from the saint's life, also generally attributed to Giotto, and are strongly tied to the frescoes in Assisi. The panel is signed OPUS IOCTI FLORENTINI ("Work by Giotto from Florence").
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
History
Giorgio VasariGiorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
mentions the work in a transept chapel of the church of San Francesco in Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
. Despite having been disputed, the work is now generally recognized to be by Giotto, being also signed; it has been dated from shortly before or later the Stories of St. Francis in Assisi
Assisi
- Churches :* The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery, il Sacro Convento, and the lower and upper church of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253...
, around 1295-1300.
It was acquired by the Louvre in 1813, as part of the Napoleonic spoiling of artworks in Italy, together with Cimabue
Cimabue
Cimabue , also known as Bencivieni di Pepo or in modern Italian, Benvenuto di Giuseppe, was an Italian painter and creator of mosaics from Florence....
's Maestà
Maestà (Cimabue)
The Maestà is a painting by the Italian artist Cimabue, painted around 1280 and housed in Musée du Louvre of Paris, France.-History:It was acquired by the Louvre in 1813, as part of the Napoleonic spoiling of artworks in Italy, together with Giotto's Stigmata of St...
, also from San Francesco.
Description
It work has a rectangular shape in the lower part, ending with a triangular cusp, and has a golden background above which is St. Francis receiving the stigmata during his prayer on Mount Alverno from a flying Christ who appears him as a seraphim. The latter's wounds emit light rays which strike Francis' body. The scene was innovative as it abandoned the Byzantine tradition of inexpressive, frontal figures; the background is a mix of newer and old elements, the latter including the very generic mountains and the lack of proportions in the landscape elements. The chapels in the mount show the attempt to draw them according to geometrical perspective. Francis' face is characterized by a strong use of chiaroscuroChiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
.
The predella
Predella
A predella is the platform or step on which an altar stands . In painting, the predella is the painting or sculpture along the frame at the bottom of an altarpiece...
shows three scenes from the saint's life, also generally attributed to Giotto, and are strongly tied to the frescoes in Assisi. The panel is signed OPUS IOCTI FLORENTINI ("Work by Giotto from Florence").