The artwork titled “St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata” was created by the renowned artist Giotto circa 1295 to 1300. It is a tempera painting on panel, measuring 314 by 162 cm, and belongs to the Proto Renaissance art movement. This religious painting is part of the series “Scenes from the Life of Saint Francis,” and is currently housed at the Louvre in Paris, France.
The artwork depicts a significant religious event in the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, where he miraculously receives the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, on his hands and feet. In the composition, Saint Francis is shown in a humble and devout posture, gazing upward towards a seraphic figure, symbolizing an angel in the form of the crucified Christ, who directs radiant beams towards the saint’s hands and feet, inflicting the holy wounds. The scene is set against an abstracted landscape with sparse trees and solitary structures, possibly symbolizing isolation and divine intervention. Below the primary scene, smaller panels illustrate other moments from Saint Francis’s life, further emphasizing his piety and divine inspiration. Giotto’s use of form and expression in the proto-Renaissance style brings a sense of realism and emotional depth to the religious narrative.
