St Francis (part of a polyptych)

Niccolò di Segna, son of the painter Segna di Bonaventura and thus grandnephew of Duccio, produced this image of Saint Francis as part of a larger polyptych around 1340. The work perpetuates the Sienese dynastic workshop tradition, carrying Duccio's legacy into the second generation. Francis's depiction in austere brown robes with the stigmata visible reflects the ongoing centrality of Franciscan devotion to Sienese artistic patronage.

Tempera and gold on panel, with the saint rendered in the conservative Sienese manner inherited from Duccio through Segna. The figure stands in a shallow spatial setting against tooled gold ground, with careful attention to the saint's ascetic physiognomy and the texture of his rough habit.