CIMABUE (Cenni di Pepo, known as Cimabue, Florence, documented 1272–1301)
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI, ca. 1280–1290
Tempera and gold on wooden panel, 123 × 41 cm
Assisi, Santa Maria degli Angeli, Museum of the Porziuncola
The painting presents one of the most famous images of Saint Francis of Assisi: the Saint is depicted standing, wearing the simple Franciscan habit fastened with the cord of three knots. In his hands he holds a precious book, symbolizing both the Gospel and the Franciscan Rule, while the signs of the Stigmata are clearly visible.
The face is striking for its gentleness and humanity: the serene gaze and the carefully rendered details, such as the tonsure and the golden halo, seem inspired by the ancient descriptions of Francis handed down by Thomas of Celano, author of the first biography of the Saint.
According to some scholars, this portrait may have been created for the original bier of Francis and painted quickly in order to allow the faithful to venerate the image as soon as possible.
This could also explain a particular technical aspect of the painting: it has been observed that the colors were applied directly onto the wood, without the usual preparatory layers of canvas, glue, and gesso normally used in the Middle Ages, suggesting a work executed with great rapidity.
The panel, now preserved in good condition after its 2015 restoration, has long been attributed to the Florentine painter Cenni di Pepo, known as Cimabue, one of the greatest painters of the 13th century, especially because it closely recalls the Saint Francis depicted by Cimabue in the fresco of the Maestà in the Lower Basilica of Assisi. Over time, the painting has come to be regarded as one of the most lifelike representations of the Saint.
To learn more, you may watch a short presentation by Donatella Vaccari, curator responsible for the Museum of the Porziuncola.
