Madonna Enthroned with the Child, St Francis and Four Angels

The Madonna Enthroned with the Child, Saint Francis, and Four Angels is one of Cimabue's most important works, painted around 1278-1280 for the Lower Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi. The inclusion of Saint Francis beside the Virgin's throne reflects the painting's Franciscan context and the order's intense devotion to the Virgin Mary. The painting is significant as one of the earliest known depictions of Francis in a monumental altarpiece setting. Cimabue's work at Assisi established the visual language of Franciscan devotional art that would be elaborated by Giotto and subsequent painters.

The enthroned Madonna is rendered with Cimabue's characteristic monumentality, the figure's massive scale and frontal presence commanding the composition. The gold background and elaborate decorative patterning of the angels' wings maintain the Byzantine decorative tradition, while the modeling of the faces shows Cimabue's steps toward naturalism. The figure of Saint Francis, small and humble beside the Virgin's throne, demonstrates the Franciscan emphasis on humility before the divine that would characterize the order's visual culture.