Crucifix by the Master of San Francesco, Louvre

This monumental painted crucifix by the Master of Saint Francis, now in the Louvre, is among the most important surviving examples of the Umbrian school's contribution to this quintessential genre of Italian Gothic painting. Dating to around 1262, it belongs to the transitional period when the older Christus triumphans type was giving way to the suffering Christus patiens, reflecting the Franciscan order's emphasis on Christ's human suffering as a path to spiritual identification. The Master of Saint Francis was the leading Umbrian painter of the mid-Duecento.

Executed in egg tempera and gold on a monumental shaped wooden cross panel, the crucifix features the Master's characteristic treatment of Christ's anatomy with elongated proportions and expressive pathos. Terminal panels depict the mourning Virgin and Saint John, with narrative scenes potentially included in apron panels below the crossbar.