Stigmata of Saint Francis

Pietro Lorenzetti's Stigmatization of Saint Francis, painted around 1310–1319 in the Lower Basilica of San Francesco at Assisi, depicts the foundational miracle of the Franciscan order in the church built over the saint's tomb. The fresco was part of an extensive decorative campaign in the Lower Basilica that brought together the greatest Sienese and Florentine painters of the early Trecento. The subject held supreme importance for the Franciscan community, as Francis's reception of the stigmata confirmed his status as an alter Christus.

Executed in fresco technique, the scene places Francis on the rocky slope of La Verna with the seraph-Christ appearing above in a luminous mandorla. Pietro's treatment balances the mystical subject with naturalistic observation in the rocky landscape and the saint's expressive pose, using warm earth tones against the blue sky.