Saint Francis of Assisi and scenes of his life

The altarpiece of Saint Francis of Assisi by Bonaventura Berlinghieri, signed and dated 1235, is the earliest dated depiction of Saint Francis and one of the most important works of 13th-century Italian painting. Created just nine years after the saint's death and still in the Church of San Francesco in Pescia, the panel shows the full-length figure of Francis flanked by six scenes from his life, including the Stigmatization and posthumous miracles. Bonaventura Berlinghieri came from a dynasty of Lucchese painters and created this work while eyewitnesses to Francis's life were still living.

Executed in tempera and gold on panel in the Italo-Byzantine style, the altarpiece follows the format of a vita icon with a central standing figure surrounded by narrative scenes. The linear treatment of Francis's habit, the gold ground, and the hieratic frontal pose derive from Byzantine panel painting traditions adapted to the new Franciscan devotional context.