| Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata | |
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| Artist | Giotto |
| Year | c. 1295–1300 |
| Medium | Tempera and gold on panel |
| Dimensions | 313 cm × 163 cm (123 in × 64 in) |
| Location | Louvre,Paris |
Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata is apanel painting intempera by the Italian artistGiotto, painted around 1295–1300 for theChurch of Saint Francis in Pisa and it is now in theMusée du Louvre in Paris. It shows an episode from the life ofSaint Francis of Assisi, and is 314 cm high (to the top of the triangule) by 162 cm wide. It is signedOPUS IOCTI FLORENTINI ("Work of Florentine Giotto").
In hisLe Vite,Giorgio Vasari mentions the work in atransept chapel of the church ofSan Francesco inPisa. 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 after theStories of St. Francis inAssisi, around 1295–1300.
In 1813 it became property of the Louvre (inv. 309), as part of theNapoleonic looting of art in Italy, together withCimabue'sMaestà, also from San Francesco. Jean Baptise Henraux took it, due to the interest ofDominique Vivant Denon, who was particularly passionate about "primitive" Italian paintings. It was put on display in the Louvre in 1814. After the restitution of artworks seized at the time, the great panel was one of the paintings that remained in France.
The work has a rectangular shape in the lower part, ending with a triangular cusp, and has agold ground. It depicts St. Francis receiving the stigmata during his prayer onMount Alverno fros 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 togeometrical perspective. Francis' face is characterized by a strong use ofchiaroscuro.
The scene was innovative as it abandoned theItalo-Byzantine tradition of inexpressive figures as the center of paintings in favor of a moment of action as the principal subject (compare the works ofBonaventura Berlinghieri and the Master of San Francesco Bardi, or Giotto's ownBadia Polyptych).
At the left and right corners, the heraldry of the Ughi or Cinquini family is visible.
Thepredella shows three scenes from the saint's life:The Dream of Pope Innocent III,The Approval of the Franciscan Rule, andThe Sermon to the Birds.[1] These depictions are also generally attributed to Giotto, and are strongly tied to the frescoes of Assisi. The panel is signedOPUS IOCTI FLORENTINI ("The work of Giotto of Florence").
The Dream shows the collapse of Laterano, with its church tilting and a column just breaking. The presence of Saint Peter to indicate that the Pope is sleeping during the vision was an innovative technique at the time.The Approval, on the other hand, is very similar to Giotto's fresco in theBasilica of Saint Francis of AssisiInnocence III Confirms the Franciscan Order and is placed in a similar room with arches and shelves to create perspective.The Sermon stands out for its simplicity and abstraction, thanks to its gold background without decorations.
In general, the style of the scenes shows greater Gothic elegance than the three stories of the Fransciscan cycle inGiotto's Assisi frescoes and serves as a point of comparison to Giottesque artists such as theMaster of St Cecilia.
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