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St. Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata
About the Artwork
Although born into a wealthy merchant family, St. Francis (1181-1226) rejected all wordly goods, dedicating himself to chastity, humility, and selfless acts of kindness. By the time of his death, the order of friars he founded had expanded throughout Europe. In the summer of 1224, Francis visited a mountain retreat at La Verna near Assisi. After weeks of intense prayer, an angel on a cross appeared. The painter shows mystical rays of light emanating from the angel and leaving Francis with stigmata, wounds resembling those Christ suffered at the time of his crucifixion. Behind the saint, a follower throws up his hands in amazement. This predella panel, which was mounted in a row of related scenes below a larger painting, retains its original frame.
Exhibition history
Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916). The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). Western Landscape Painting and Drawing. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 29, 1954-January 6, 1955). Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963). Picasso and the Mysteries of Life: La Vie. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-April 21, 2013). The Caporali Missal: A Masterpiece of Renaissance Illumination. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-June 2, 2013).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Bicci di Lorenzo (Italian, 1373–1452)
- Date
- c. 1430
- Medium
- tempera and gold on wood
- Dimensions
- Framed: 21.7 x 32 cm (8 9/16 x 12 5/8 in.); Unframed: 17.9 x 27 cm (7 1/16 x 10 5/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Medieval Art
- Credit line
- Holden Collection
- Accession no.
- 1916.787
Provenance
James Jackson Jarves; Mrs. Liberty E. Holden, Cleveland Gift of Mrs. L. E. Holden, 1914 (December 5, 1914)
More by Bicci di Lorenzo in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009746
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