Saint Francis of Assisi, attributed to Girolamo Muziano (1532 - 1592)

Saint Francis of Assisi Receives the Stigmata

Oil on wood

115 x 81 cm

Verso with labels and handwritten notes identifying the mentioned artist.

Often, in Muziano's work, Saint Francis is depicted more in the background, as a kneeling full-body figure. In this particular variant, however, the artist prefers immediacy - the depicted figure is now brought much closer to the viewer, his gaze directed beyond the altar towards Christ as a Seraph in heaven. In the middle ground, Saint Leo of Assisi is shown reading the Holy Scripture, accompanying Francis during his retreats for fasting and prayer in the hermitage, likely with San Damiano in Assisi in the background, where Christ appeared to Saint Francis. Muziano adorned his figural scenes, as seen here, with landscapes inspired by those from his native Brescia, although he primarily worked in Rome (from around 1550), having studied with Domenico Campagnola and Lambert Sustris in Padua from 1544 to 1546. Muziano was highly sought after in Rome, and many of his works can be found not only in churches such as Chiesa Nuova, Santa Maria ai Monti, Basilica di Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti, and Basilica di Sant'Agostino, but also in the Galleria Colonna, Galleria Doria Pamphili, Pinacoteca Vaticana, and Gallerie Nazionali d'Arte antica.