Saint Francis

Cimabue's panel of Saint Francis in the Museo della Porziuncola, painted around 1290, is one of the most important early portraits of the Franciscan founder and may have been created for the small church of the Porziuncola at Assisi, the cradle of the Franciscan movement. The image depicts Francis with the stigmata, emphasizing the identification of the saint with Christ's Passion that was central to Franciscan spirituality. As the leading painter of his generation with extensive experience at the Assisi basilica, Cimabue was uniquely positioned to create authoritative images of the order's founder.

Executed in egg tempera on panel with gold ground, the painting presents Francis in a half-length or standing format with the stigmata prominently visible on his hands. Cimabue's sensitive facial modeling, using warm underlayers and delicate highlights, gives the saint an individualized, portrait-like quality that transcends the generic hagiographic icon type.