LOT 0347

Medieval Painting of Saint Francis of Assisi

ITALY, CIRCA 1360-1380 A.D.

27 3/8 in. (3.6 kg, 69.5 cm high).

Rectangular body with triangular arch to the upper edge; gilt finish to gesso-covered board and stepped frame; facing bust with pounced nimbus framing the grey-haired tonsured head, with short beard; dark brown monastic habit with hood over a grey undertunic visible at the cuff; both hands supporting a red-covered book; Sienna School, label to reverse: 'Firenze Sept,1935 Ecole Siennoise. No.934. A.K.K.K'. [No Reserve]

Private collection, Geneva, formed in the 1980s; thence by descent.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13513-262847.

Cf. Various, Il volto di San Francesco da Cimabue a Caravaggio, Perugia, 2022, pp.8,15,21.

One of the earliest known portraits of the saint was painted by Cimabue while he was working on the frescoes at the Basilica of Assisi. Executed on a wooden panel, tradition holds that this board originally served as the lid for the humble wooden coffin in which Saint Francis was laid to rest immediately after his death. Over the centuries, the depiction of the saint was refined by masters like Giotto and other prominent Medieval and Renaissance artists, including the Master of Paciano, Taddeo di Bartolo, Benozzo Gozzoli, and Niccolò di Liberatore. Together, their works offer a focused yet deeply evocative journey, tracing how the saint’s image evolved alongside his rapidly growing cult. This artistic legacy is closely intertwined with the influential Sienese school of painting.