Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata
Master of Staffolo·1420
Historical Context
The Master of Staffolo's Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata, dated around 1420 and now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, depicts the most important mystical event in Franciscan spirituality: the moment in 1224 when Francis received the five wounds of Christ's Passion on his own body, while praying on Mount La Verna. The stigmatization of Francis was the first recorded case of stigmata in Christian history and became the central defining event of his sanctity. The Master of Staffolo was an Umbrian painter working in the tradition of Gentile da Fabriano's followers, and the subject was naturally popular in the Umbrian region where the Franciscan order had its origins.
Technical Analysis
The master sets the scene in a rocky landscape with Francis kneeling in prayer as rays of light connect him to the crucified seraph above. The gold accents of the stigmata rays provide a supernatural visual element within the otherwise naturalistic landscape. Figure handling is soft and devotional in the Umbrian manner.
