St. Francis Kneeling before Christ on the Cross (1437–1444): Art, History and Details

St. Francis Kneeling before Christ on the Cross (1437–1444) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Sassetta (Italian, 1392–1450).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Because of his simplicity, piety, and devotion to all living creatures, Saint Francis (1181–1226) has remained among the most revered and popular saints. Born to wealthy parents in Assisi, he first lived a life of spendthrift luxury. However, Francis later gave up all worldly goods and embraced an existence of utter poverty. Throughout his adult life, the saint experienced mystical trances and visions of Christ. Atop the cross here is a leafy tree and a nest of pelicans. Fifteenth-century viewers would have recognized the tree as a reference to the cross, which is often described as a tree, symbolizing Christ's role as the source of eternal life. The pelican, shown nourishing its young with its own blood, symbolizes Christ, who sacrifices himself for the salvation of mankind. This painting was the center pinnacle on the back of a double-sided altarpiece made for the church of San Francesco in Borgo Sansepolcro (near Arezzo).

Object facts

• Title: St. Francis Kneeling before Christ on the Cross
• Date: 1437–1444
• Creator attribution: Sassetta (Italian, 1392–1450)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Painting
• Technique: tempera and gold on wood
• Dimensions: Framed: 91 x 46.5 x 4.5 cm (35 13/16 x 18 5/16 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 81 x 40.2 cm (31 7/8 x 15 13/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Medieval Art
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1962.36

Collection credit

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Bauch, Kurt. "Christus am Kreuz und der beilige Franziskus." In Eine Gabe Der Freunde Für Carl Georg Heise Zum 28. VI. 1950, Erich Meyer, ed., 103-112. [Berlin]: [Gebr. Mann], 1950.
• Gronau, H.D. "Early Italian Paintings at Stuttgart." The Burlington Magazine 92, no. 572 (November 1950): 321-323, 325.
• Carli, Enzo. "Sassetta's Borgo San Sepolcro Altarpiece." The Burlington Magazine 93, no. 578 (May 1951): 145-152.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.