The Funeral of Saint Francis

The Funeral of Saint Francis, in the National Gallery London, was part of Sassetta's great polyptych altarpiece for the church of San Francesco in Sansepolcro, completed around 1444. The altarpiece depicted eight scenes from the life of Francis of Assisi on its back panels, and the Funeral is among the most narratively compelling: the saint's body lies in state while friars, clergy, and laypeople gather to pay homage. Sassetta's Sienese roots gave him access to a tradition of devotional narrative painting that maintained Byzantine elegance while incorporating measured spatial depth.

The architectural space—a colonnade enclosing the body and mourners—is rendered in Sassetta's characteristic shallow perspective that creates a stage-like setting rather than full illusionistic depth. The figures are individualized by expression and gesture while maintaining the decorative line quality of the Sienese tradition, their draperies described in thin, precise egg tempera strokes.