Master of Saint Francis, 'Crucifix', about 1265-70

Crucifix

Master of Saint Francis

Not on display

About the work

Overview

We don't know the identity of the artist, but he painted a group of works for Franciscan patrons in and around Assisi. These include the image of Saint Francis for the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, after which he is named.

He made several painted Crosses on this scale. They were probably for use in processions and originally had the same image on both sides. This one has been cut in half, probably because of damage from frequent use. It shows Christ upon the Cross, his body bowed in death. Red blood drips in neat lines from his hands and feet.

On the panel to the left is the Virgin, supported in her grief by Mary Magdalene. On the right are Saint John the Evangelist and the Roman soldier who, according to Luke’s Gospel, recognised Christ as the Son of God when he was hung on the Cross.

In-depth

This painted Crucifix is one of the earliest works in our collection, but we don‘t know the artist’s identity. It has been connected to a group of works that includes a picture of Saint Francis made for the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, near Assisi – so the person who made them is known as the Master of Saint Francis. He may have been a Franciscan friar because he painted so many works for that religious order.

The Crucifix has a precious, jewel-like appearance. Ultramarine, the most expensive blue pigment, has been used for the background; the rectangular terminals that punctuate its points are decorated with a gilded trellis pattern and the whole object is edged with gold borders. Its magnificence belies the horror and sorrow of the subject matter. Christ is painted as though hanging upon the Cross. His eyes are closed and his body, limp in death, sways dramatically to one side. Red blood drips from his palms, vivid against the blue background.

The panel behind Christ’s loincloth is known as the apron and here, on either side, are figures mourning his death. To the left, the Virgin Mary is supported by Mary Magdalene, who holds her firmly by the wrists to prevent her collapsing in grief. To the right is John the Evangelist, whom Christ named his ‘beloved’ disciple, with his hand on his cheek – a melancholic gesture. Behind him is a Roman soldier. He may represent the officer in the Gospel of Luke who, at the moment of Christ’s death, recognised him as the son of God. These mourning figures emphasise sorrow and grief. Such images were made to encourage meditation upon and empathy for Christ’s sufferings, a mode of prayer particularly promoted by the Franciscans.

Small painted Crucifixes like this were popular in Umbria, a region of Assisi. The workshop of the Master of Saint Francis produced several, some of which are painted with similar images on both sides, like the one in the Galleria Nazionale dell’ Umbria in Perugia. This meant that they were visible from all directions in religious processions. The wood of this Crucifix is very thin, suggesting it was split in half some time before it was purchased for the National Gallery, possibly on account of damage caused by frequent use. A restorer has repainted and regilded the side terminals, probably following the spirit of the original design.

The gold circles in the terminals and above Christ’s head were very likely topped with glass discs. The central one almost certainly contained a relic, perhaps a piece of the Cross itself, because it contains a square cavity which has been filled in. The painting was not just a representation of Christ’s death but also a precious reliquary, an object made for the preservation and display of sacred objects.

The inscriptions in the upper terminal and on either side of Christ’s head remind the worshipper of Christ’s conquest of death through the Resurrection. The Latin words at the top – which are not original, but probably a (mispelled) copy of the original text – translate as: ‘Behold this is Jesus Christ, king of the Jews, saviour of the world and our salvation, who hung for us on the tree of life.’

Key facts

Details

Full title: Crucifix
Artist: Master of Saint Francis
Artist dates: active 1272
Date made: about 1265-70
Medium and support: egg tempera on wood
Dimensions: 91.8 × 70.6 cm
Acquisition credit: Bought with contributions from the Art Fund and an anonymous donor, 1965
Inventory number: NG6361
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Frame: 13th-century Umbrian Frame (original frame)

Provenance

Collection of M. Adolphe Stoclet, Brussels, 1925. Sold from the Collection of M. Philippe Stoclet, Sotheby’s, New York, 24 March 1965, lot 7. Purchased 1965 with the aid of the National Art Collections Fund and an anonymous benefactor.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Dillian Gordon, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Italian Paintings before 1400’, London 2011; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2024

The Enigma of the Master of Saint Francis. The Stil Novo in Thirteenth-Century Umbria

Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria

9 March 2024 - 9 June 2024

Bibliography

1927

P. Bautier, 'I primitivi italiani della collezione Stoclet a Bruxelles', Cronache d'arte, IV, 1927
1929

E.S. Vavalà, La croce dipinta italiana e l'iconografia della passione, Verona 1929
1929

R. Marle, 'Italian Paintings of the Thirteenth Century in the Collection of Monsieur Adolphe Stoclet in Brussels', Pantheon, IV, 1929
1932

B. Berenson, Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: A List of the Principal Artists and Their Works, with an Index of Places, Oxford 1932
1943

G. Sinibaldi and G. Brunetti, Mostra Giottesca, (exh. cat. Uffizi, April - October 1937), Florence 1943
1949

E.B. Garrison, Italian Romanesque Panel Painting: An Illustrated Index, Florence 1949
1961

J. Schultze, 'Ein Dugento-Altar aus Assisi? Versuch einer Rekonstruktion', Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, X, 1961, pp. 59-66
1963

J. Schultze, 'Zur Kunst des Franziskusmeisters', Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch, XXV, 1963, pp. 109-50
1965

M. Davies, 'An Early Italian Crucifix at the National Gallery', The Burlington Magazine, CVII/753, 1965, pp. 627-8
1967

G. Agnew, Agnew's, 1817-1967, London 1967
1969

F. Santi, Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria: Dipinti, scultura e oggetti d'arte di età romanica e gotica, Rome 1969
1974

R. Longhi, Giudizio sul duecento e ricerche sul Trecento nell'Italia centrale: 1939-1970, Florence 1974
1980

P. Scarpellini, Il tesoro della Basilica di San Francesco ad Assisi: Saggi e catalogo, Assisi 1980
1982

J. Cannon, 'Dating the Frescoes by the Maestro di S. Francesco at Assisi', The Burlington Magazine, CXXIV/947, 1982, pp. 65-9
1982

D. Gordon, 'A Perugian Provenance for the Franciscan Double-Sided Altar-Piece by the Maestro di San Francesco', The Burlington Magazine, CXXIV/947, 1982, pp. 70-7
1982

S. Romano, 'Le storie parallele di Assisi: Il Maestro di San Francesco', Storia dell'arte, XLIV, 1982, pp. 63-81
1983

Musée du Louvre, Nouvelles acquisitions du Département des peintures (1980-1982), Paris 1983
1983

J. Poeschke, 'Der "Franziskusmeister" und die Anfänge der Ausmalung von S. Francesco in Assisi', Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, XXVII, 1983, pp. 125-70
1983

B. Brenk, 'Das Datum der Franzlegende der Unterkirche zu Assisi: La Sapienza', in Roma Anno 1300: Atti della IV Settimana di Studi di Storia dell'Arte Medievale dell'Università di Roma 'La Sapienza', 19-24 Maggio 1980, Rome 1983, pp. 229-34
1984

D. Gordon, 'Un crucifix du Maître de San Francesco', Revue du Louvre, XXXIV/4, 1984, pp. 253-61
1986

Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The Earlier Italian Schools, revised edn, London 1986
1986

E. Castelnuovo (ed.), La pittura in Italia: Il Duecento e il Trecento, Milan 1986
1987

L.C. Marques, La peinture du duecento en Italie centrale, Paris 1987
1988

Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Early Italian Schools before 1400, revised edn, London 1988
1989

F. Todini, La pittura umbra: Al Duecento al primo Cinquecento, Milan 1989
1989

D. Bomford et al., Italian Painting before 1400 (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 29 November 1989 - 28 February 1990), London 1989
1991

J. Dunkerton et al., Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery, New Haven 1991
1993

R. White and J. Pilc, 'Analyses of Paint Media', National Gallery Technical Bulletin, XIV, 1993, pp. 86-94
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
2011

Gordon, Dillian, National Gallery Catalogues: The Italian Paintings before 1400, London 2011

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.