Stigmatisation of St. Francis, Pisa altarpiece
Giotto Stigmatisation of St Francis Pisa altarpiece
GIOTTO di Bondone (b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze)
Legend of St Francis: 19. Stigmatization of St Francis
1297-1300
Fresco, 270 x 230 cm
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi
This is the nineteenth of the twenty-eight scenes (twenty-five of which were painted by Giotto) of Legend of Saint Francis.
Giotto sets the event remote from the world, in the isolation of the mountains and unnoticed by the reading monk. Stigmatizarion is the high point in the life of the saint. It marks him our for all to see as an imitator of Christ. The Son of God appears to him, wrapped around by angels’ wings. Fine golden rays lead from his wounds to St. Francis, and mark the latter out.