The Story Of St Francis

• The Ostrogoths of king Totila destroyed

most of the town in 545. Assisi then came
under the rule of the Lombards as part of
the Lombard and then Frankish Duchy of
Spoleto.
• The thriving commune became an
independent Ghibelline commune in the
11th century.
• Constantly struggling with the Guelph
Perugia, it was during one of those battles,
the battle at Ponte San Giovanni, that
Francesco di Bernardone, (Saint Francis of
Assisi), was taken prisoner, setting in
motion the events that eventually led him to
live as a beggar, renounce the world and
establish the Order of Friars Minor.
 The Franciscan Order
• Divided among three separate
groups
• a mendicant religious order of
men tracing their origin to
A religious order depending on
charity they do not own goods or
property in an attempt to follow as
literarily as possible the life of
Christ. Matthew 10:9 Do not take along any gold or
silver or copper in your belts

Francis of Assisi.
• The three separate groups,
each considered a religious
order in its own right, are the
Observants, most commonly
simply called "Franciscan
friars,"
• the Capuchins,
• and the Conventual
Franciscans. They all live
according to a body of
regulations known as
• "The Rule of St. Francis―

The Order of Friars Minor - disciples of Saint

Francis of Assisi. Painting by El Greco
1. Francis was born at Assisi in
Umbria in 1181 or 1182. His father,
Piero Bernardone, was a prosperous
merchant, and Francis planned to
follow him in his trade, although he
also had dreams of being a troubadour
or a knight.
2. In 1201 he took part in an attack on
Perugia, was taken hostage, and
remained a captive there for a year. As
a result of his captivity and a severe
illness his mind began to turn to
religion, but around 1205 he enlisted in
another military expedition, to
Apulia.
3. However, he had a dream in which
God called him to his service, and he
returned to Assisi and began to care
for the sick. In 1206, he had a vision
in which Christ called him to repair St Francis in the ruins of San
His Church.
Damiano
4. Francis interpreted this as a command
to repair the church of San Damiano, “Francis, go now and repair my
near Assisi. He resolved to become Church which, as you see, is
a hermit, and devoted himself to falling down.”
repairing the church.
• His father, angry and
embarrassed by Francis'
behaviour, imprisoned
him and brought him
before the bishop as
disobedient.
• Francis abandoned all
his rights and
possessions, including
his clothes.
• Two years later he felt
himself called to preach,
and was soon joined by
companions.
• When they numbered
eleven he gave them a
short Rule and received
approval from pope
Innocent III for the
brotherhood, which
Francis called the Friars
Minor.
• Francis handing over all
his worldly possessions
as well as his clothing to
his father
Giotto – life of St Francis.
– Francis turned his skills as a
troubadour to the writing of prayers
and hymns.
– In 1212 Clara Sciffi, a girl from a noble
family of Assisi, left her family to join
Francis.
– With his encouragement she founded a
sisterhood at San Damiano, the Poor
Ladies, later the Poor Clares.
– In 1219 Francis joined the crusaders
and preached to the Sultan of Egypt.
• After a fair degree of
Politicising, Pope Innocent III
was persuaded to accept the
new monastic order
• Absorbed as he was in the
rebuilding program of the
Church he saw the Franciscans
as loyal supporter‘s of the
building program
• Also he saw them as a possible
answer to an orthodox
preaching force to counter
heresy.
• Many legends have clustered
around the decisive audience
of Francis with the Pope.
• The account in which the Pope
originally sent the shabby saint
off to keep swine, and only
recognized his real worth by
his ready obedience, has, in
spite of its improbability, a
certain historical interest, since
it shows the natural antipathy
of the older Benedictine
monasticism to the plebeian
mendicant orders
• The group was tonsured and
Francis was ordained as a The Confirmation of the Franciscan Rule by Domenico
deacon, allowing him to read Ghirlandaio, Capella Sassetti, Florence
Gospels in the church.
 • In 1219 Francis left, together with
a few companions, on a
pilgrimage to Egypt.
• Crossing the lines between the
sultan and the Crusaders in
Damietta, he was received by the
sultan Melek-el-Kamel.
• Francis challenged the Muslim
scholars to a test of true religion
by fire; but they retreated.
• When Francis proposed to enter
the fire first, under the condition
that if he left the fire unharmed,
the sultan would have to
recognize Christ as the true God,
the sultan was so impressed that
he allowed Francis to preach to
his subjects.
• Though Francis did not succeed
in converting the sultan, the last
words of the sultan to Francis of
Assisi were, according to Jacques
de Vitry, bishop of Acre, in his
book "Historia occidentalis, De
Ordine et praedicatione Fratrum
Minorum" : ―Pray for me that God
may deign to reveal to me that law
and faith which is most pleasing
St. Francis before the Sultan — the trial by fire to him.
(fresco attributed to Giotto)
La Verna and Saint Francis of Assisi
• Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the
Archangel
• is a day in the Western Christian calendar
• A hilly area situated in the which occurs on 29 September.
centre of the Tuscan • Because it falls near the equinox, it is
Apennines, rising above the associated in the northern hemisphere with
the beginning of autumn and the shortening
valley of the Casentino. of day
• Count Orlando of Chiusi gave
La Verna to Francis in 1213 as
a retreat specially favourable
for contemplation,
• and in 1218 built him the
chapel Santa Maria degli
Angeli.
• In August, 1224, Francis
withdrew to La Verna to keep a
forty days fast in preparation
for Michaelmas and while
praying on the mountain-side
he received (on or about 14
September) the stigmata.
• 1224 - Francis is said to
have had a vision ,
• The Exaltation of the Cross,
as a result of which he
received the stigmata.
• Brother Leo, who had been
with Francis at the time, left
a clear and simple account
of the event, the first
definite account of the
phenomenon of stigmata.
• "Suddenly he saw a vision
of a seraph, a six-winged
angel on a cross. This
angel gave him the gift of
the five wounds of Christ.―
• Suffering from these
stigmata and from an eye
disease, Francis received
care but to no avail.
• In the end, he was brought
back to a hut next to the
Porziuncola.
• Here, in the place where it
all began, feeling the end
approaching, he spent the
last days of his life
dictating his spiritual
testament.
• He died on the evening of
October 3, 1226, singing
Psalm 141.
• On July 16, 1228, he was pronounced a saint by Pope
Gregory IX (the former cardinal Ugolino di Conti, friend of St
Francis and Cardinal Protector of the Order).
• The next day, the Pope laid the foundation stone for the
Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.
• He was buried on May 25, 1230, under the Lower Basilica.
• His burial place remained inaccessible until it was reopened
in 1818.
• Pasquale Belli then constructed for his remains a crypt in
neo-classical style in the Lower Basilica.
• It was refashioned between 1927 and 1930 into its present form by Ugo
Tarchi, stripping the wall of its marble decorations.
• In 1978 the remains of St. Francis were identified by a commission of
scholars appointed by Pope Paul VI, and put in a glass urn in the ancient
stone tomb.
• Saint Francis is considered the first Italian poet by literary critics.
• He believed commoners should be able to pray to God in their own
language, and he wrote often in the dialect of Umbria instead of Latin. His
writings are considered to have great literary value, as well as religious.
• On Pentecost 25 May 1230 the
uncorrupted body of St. Francis was
brought in a solemn procession to the
Lower Basilica from its temporary burial
place in the church of St. George, now
the Basilica of Saint Clare of Assisi.
• The burial place was concealed for fear
that St Francis' remains might be stolen
and dispersed.
• The Piazza del Loge, the square leading
to the church, is surrounded by
colonnades constructed in 1474.
• They housed the numerous pilgrims
flocking to this church.
• In 1818, the remains of St Francis were
rediscovered beneath the floor of the
Lower Basilica.
• In the reign of Pope Pius IX the crypt
was built so that the faithful might visit
the burial place of the saint.
• The Basilica was designed on two
levels, each of which is consecrated
as a church.
• They are known as the "Basilica
superiore" (The Upper Basilica),
generally called "The Upper Church"
and the "Basilica inferiore" (The
Lower Basilica), generally called "The
Lower Church".
• The Lower Church was structurally a
large crypt supporting the upper one.
• Cimabue‘s famous Portrait of St
Francis in the lower basilica
• Basilica ‗Inferiore‘
• The west end of the transept
and the apse have been
decorated with many
frescoes by Cimabue and
his workshop (starting in c.
1280).
• The magnificent Crucifixion,
with St. Francis on his knees
at the foot of the Cross,
stresses again the
veneration of the Passion of
Christ by St. Francis.
• Sadly, the frescoes of
Cimabue soon suffered from
damp and decay.
• Due to the use of lead oxide
in his colours and to the fact
that the colours were
applied when the plaster
was no longer fresh, they
have deteriorated and have
been reduced to
photographic negatives.
St. Francis of Assisi died at Santa
Maria degli Angeli
• A region of the commune of Assisi in
the Province of Perugia, Umbria,
central Italy.
• It stands at an elevation of 218
metres above sea level and is located
c. 4 km south from Assisi. Perugia
Assisi

• The name of the city was used by the

Spanish Franciscan missionaries as
the name of Los Angeles, now one
of the largest cities of the United
States.
• It is home to the Basilica of Santa
Maria degli Angeli, which includes
the Porziuncola, the most sacred
place of the Franciscan Order of the
Roman Catholic Church.
 • the most famous incident that illustrates the
Saint's humility towards nature
• is recounted in the "Fioretti" ("Little Flowers")
• a collection of legends and folklore that sprang
up after the Saint's death.

• It is said that, one day, while

Francis was travelling with
some companions, they
happened upon a place in the
road where birds filled the trees
on either side.
• Francis told his companions to
"wait for me while I go to
preach to my sisters the birds".
• The birds surrounded him,
drawn by the power of his voice
St Francis preaching to the birds by Giotto
Now the substance of the sermon was this: "My little sisters the birds, ye owe much to God, your
Creator, and ye ought to sing his praise at all times and in all places, because he has given you
liberty to fly about into all places; and though ye neither spin nor sew, he has given you a twofold
and a threefold clothing for yourselves and for your offspring.

Two of all your species he sent into the Ark with

Noe that you might not be lost to the world;
besides which, he feeds you, though ye neither
sow nor reap. He has given you fountains and
rivers to quench your thirst, mountains and
valleys in which to take refuge, and trees in
which to build your nests; so that your Creator
loves you much, having thus favoured you with
such bounties. Beware, my little sisters, of the
sin of ingratitude, and study always to give praise
to God."
As he said these words, all the birds began to
open their beaks, to stretch their necks, to
spread their wings and reverently to bow their
heads to the ground, endeavouring by their
motions and by their songs to manifest their joy
to St Francis. And the saint rejoiced with them.
He wondered to see such a multitude of birds,
and was charmed with their beautiful variety, with
their attention and familiarity, for all which he
devoutly gave thanks to the Creator.

• St Francis preaching to the birds by Duccio

• Another legend from the Fioretti tells
that in the city of Gubbio, where
Francis lived for some time, was a wolf
"terrifying and ferocious, who
devoured men as well as animals".
• Francis had compassion upon the
townsfolk, and went up into the hills to
find the wolf.
• Soon, fear of the animal had caused all
his companions to flee, though the
saint pressed on.
• When he found the wolf, he made the
sign of the cross and commanded the
wolf to come to him and hurt no one.
• Miraculously the wolf closed his jaws
and lay down at the feet of St. Francis.
"Brother Wolf, you do much harm in
these parts and you have done great
evil...", said Francis. "All these people
accuse you and curse you... But
brother wolf, I would like to make
peace between you and the people".
• Then Francis led the wolf into the
town, and surrounded by startled
citizens made a pact between them
and the wolf.
• Because the wolf had ―done evil out
of hunger‖, the townsfolk were to feed
the wolf regularly, and in return, the
wolf would no longer prey upon them
or their flocks.
• Brother Sun, Sister Moon
• 1972 film directed by Franco
Zeffirelli
• Featuring Zeffirelli's signature
lush photography, Brother Sun,
Sister Moon was conceived and
executed in much the same
visual manner as his Academy
Award-winning adaptation of
Romeo and Juliet (1968).
• The film attempts to draw
parallels between the work and
philosophy of Saint Francis and
the ideology that underpinned
the worldwide hippie movement
of the 1960s and early '70s.
 Giotto
• Transformed Byzantine art by his
revolutionary approach to form
was of depicting ‗real space‘ The
scale of the figures is in relation to
the surroundings.
• Gothic painting reaches its height
in Giotto.
Nicola Pisano
came to live in
Tuscany in 1250.
Devoted to
studying classical
sculptures of
Rome.
The French court of
Anjou in Naples
had introduced the
Italians to Gothic
art of Northern
Europe.
• Pulpit in the Baptistery at Pisa
(dated 1260) shows his
brilliant adaptation of antique
forms to a new context.
• He transformed a Dionysus
into Simeon at the
Presentation of Christ, a nude
Hercules into a
personification of Christian
Fortitude, and a Phaedra into
the Virgin Mary.
1. Nicola followed the Pisa
pulpit with a similar but more
complex work for Siena
Cathedral (1265-68).
2. The carving is deeper, the
contrasts between light and
shadow sharpened, the reliefs
more densely packed and full of
movement.
3. By then Nicola had a large
workshop, his assistants
including his son Giovanni
and Arnolfo di Cambio.
Giovanni developed this much
further in Siena, where from
1284 onwards he designed the
façade of the cathedral and
carried out much of the
sculptural decoration
Giovanni's last two great works
were pulpits for S. Andrea,
Pistoia (1300-01), and Pisa
Cathedral (1302-10).
They are modelled on those of his
father, but more elegant in style
(showing French Gothic influence)
and also more emotionally
charged.
Dante Alighieri was one of Italy‘s most famous poets. 1265-1321
The divine comedy
The Arena Chapel at Padua
• Founded in 1303 by Enrico
Scroveni to atone for the sins
of his father a notorious
usurer.
• Is decorated with Giotto‘s
greatest surviving work
• A cycle of frescoes showing
scenes from the life of the
virgin and the Passion
• The frescoes run all around the
walls of the chapel
If Giotto
revolutionised
Florentine art,
Duccio also was
responsible for
a smaller but
very significant
revolution just
south of
Florence in a
town named
Sienna

His greatest
work was a
‗Maesta‘ painted
for the Siena
Cathedral in
1308
Conjectural
reconstruction of the
Maestà (front)
-
Digitized reconstruction of
panels
This work was
later cut up and
sold
Probably due to
a lack of
appreciation in
later years
Hard to imagine
after a
chronicler
reported it
‗carried through
the streets with
great jubilation‘

Conjectural
reconstruction of the
Maestà (back)
-
Digitized reconstruction of
panels
Duccio‘s Maesta was painted on both sides
• The front was in three parts
• Main panel was the Madonna and Child enthroned surrounded by angels and saints
• At the base of the main panel ran a predella decorated with scenes from Christ‘s
childhood
• A corresponding strip ran at the top displayed scenes from the last years of the Virgin‘s
life
• Both of these are lost
• The reverse of the Panel was painted with scenes from the life of Christ
• 26 are known
One of the
scenes from
the back,
The Holy
Women at the
Sepulchre
The moment in
the Passion
when the 3
Mary‘s
discover
Christ‘s empty
tomb and are
told by the
angel Gabriel
that Christ has
risen.
The painting
does not
display a
psychological
awareness of
Giotto.
He is detached and paints from a design point of view displaying a wholeness and
contained atmosphere that is parcelled and packaged
Duccio is very much Byzantine in style but has been influenced by the
international Gothic style he has imitated from the work of Nicola and Giovanni
Pisano.
This is evident in the graceful swaying forms of the figures
The figures have a sense of volume and form
Even though these are all on a small scale there is an epic sense of drama and
scale, A weightiness new to Italian painting.

Figure of Simeon holding Christ

from the north transept of
Chartres Cathedral
Demonstrates a shift from the
rigid Romanesque style to the
more personalised and elegant
figures
Typified by the drapery folds
this was echoed in the painting.
The calling of the
Apostles Peter and
Andrew
1. The world is
divided into three
• A great golden
heaven
• A green gold sea
• And a rocky shore
2. The two look in
astonishment at
the cause of the
miraculous catch
3. Their clothing is
bland in colour in
comparison to
Christ
4. The blood red of
the passion
5. Purple indicates
his royalty
6. Gold edging his
divinity.
7. Halo carved into
the panel
Deposition
1. The deposition of Christ comp. with Duccio‘s calling of the apostles
2. Brings the action down to our human eye level.

3. His mother holds his head; Mary Magdalene clasps his feet St John a
sweeping gesture

4. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea stand to the side reticent and mournful,
Mary‘s companions wail and lament.

5. Angels swoop and somersault with sorrow

The Mount of Olives becomes the scene of unexpected agitation in Christ Taken
Prisoner, containing three separate episodes: in the centre the kiss of Judas, to
the left Peter cutting off the ear of the servant Malchus, to the right the flight of the
 This dramatic
Kiss of Judas scene takes
place at night.
Torches shine
out among the
sticks and
halberds against
the blue of the
sky. The throngs
of people crowd
into the centre,
towards Christ,
who is betrayed
by Judas' kiss.
Every movement,
even that of Peter
as he cuts off the
ear of an
attacker, and
every gaze
heightens the
tension of the
central
confrontation.
• In the Duccio
• The dramatic intensity of the scene, heightened by the crowded succession of
spears, lanterns and torches, shows in the excited movements of the
characters and the expressiveness of their faces.
• The landscape, after long being an anonymous feature of minor importance,
takes on a new scenic role.
• The vegetation and rocky crags of Byzantine inspiration seem to be an integral
part of the action
• In Christ Taken Prisoner they enclose the main episode, as if allowing the
disciples to escape.
1. With the force of his
body Judas presses
against Christ, who
appears to disappear
beneath the traitor's
cloak.
2. This expresses the
inevitable outcome of
this overwhelming
confrontation.
3. Surrounded and
hemmed in by
numerous faces, the
profiles of Christ and
Judas almost collide.
4. The two look at one
another — the one with
dignity and
seriousness, the other
full of malice.
5. The whole drama of the
event is captured in
this infinitely long
exchange of glances.
• Accompanied by his
disciples, Christ enters
Jerusalem mounted on
an ass.
• The people come to
meet him in front of the
city gate - we can
recognize the Golden
Gate on the right of the
painting.
• To honour their Lord,
some of them spread
their clothes out on the
ground.
• Giotto plainly
demonstrates how
events are progressing
through the various
stages of disrobing on
the one side, and the
movement of the
donkey on the other.
• Movement and counter-
movement give us the
origin and the end of
the procession.
Simone Martini - annunciation
1. Still rooted in Byzantine tradition the value of
this piece is seen in its transitional character
2. Still demonstrates remote spirituality of the
Byzantine style
3. Acknowledges Giotto‘s innovative spatial
relations
4. The elegance and decorative style of the Gothic
style imported from France and established at
the court of Naples
5. The concern with graceful forms
6. Uninterrupted free-flowing line and pattern; the
mannerisms and delicate gestures of his figures
7. The qaulity and delicate craftsmanship

8. The altarpiece was executed between 1329 and

1333 for the chapel of Sant'Ansano
9. On the gold background the figures of Angel
Gabriel and the Virgin enhances Gothic line,
without narrative details: just the central pot with
lilies, symbolizing Mary's purity, and the olive
branch.
10. The golden relief inscription starting from the
Angel's mouth contains beginning words of the
Annunciation.
1. This small panel shows Joseph
and Mary remonstrating with
Christ for lingering in the Temple
and represents an unusual
iconographic subject, painted at
the end of Simone's life.
2. In some respects, it resembles the
Annunciation in the Uffizi, for the
folds and edges of drapery are
used in a similar way in both.
3. Simones figures have an
extraordinary fluidity
4. Feet are placed on earth and yet
they inhabit another kind of reality.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti –
Annunciation
In this late work Ambrogio
abandons his usual
earthy depiction of
realistic and human detail
in favour of emphasizing
the almost Gothic
elegance of the two
characters.
They face each other
across a floor that is,
however, painted in
rigorous perspective.

executed in 1344 for the

City Council of Siena.
 Ambrogio Lorenzetti , Effects of Good Government on the City
1. If Simone Martini is the disciple of Duccio the Lorenzetti brothers Pietro and
Ambrogio (1320-48) are the inheritors of Giotto.
2. They seem to have understood Giotto‘s psychological vitality rather than the
elegance of Martini.
3. Both died suddenly in 1348 possibly of the plague.
Ambrogio painted the Effects of Good and government in the City and
country.
Commissioned for the Palazzo Pubblico.
Ambrogio Lorenzetti. The
Presentation in the Temple.