Saint Francis raises a child from the dead

Taddeo Gaddi's Saint Francis Raises a Child from the Dead belongs to the hagiographic narrative cycle depicting Francis's posthumous miracles, which were central to the argument for his canonization and the promotion of Franciscan devotion. Gaddi, Giotto's most important pupil and the principal painter in Florence for nearly two decades after his master's death, applied the Giottesque tradition's narrative clarity and spatial depth to Franciscan subjects with particular devotion, having worked alongside his master on major Franciscan commissions. The miraculous resurrection narrative combined theological assertion with human drama: parental grief, divine intervention, restored life.

Painted in egg tempera on panel with gold ground, the composition demonstrates Gaddi's mastery of spatial staging learned from Giotto, with architectural framing devices and expressive figural groupings. The warm tonality and volumetric modeling of drapery show the mature Florentine Gothic style.