Saint Francis blessing
The sculpture, formerly in a private collection, was purchased by Monte dei Paschi in 1987. Despite the adolescent features of the saint’s face – highly unusual in representations of Saint Francis – the subject is readily recognizable as the saint from Assisi who received the stigmata on his hands, feet, and side, which he shows here to the faithful. Francis holds the book representing the Rule of the Order he founded, which, as the surviving traces of the original painted decoration indicate, must have been adorned with the illuminations typical of ancient manuscripts. The cloverleaf hole in the saint’s breast and square cavities in the base of the sculpture served to contain his relics, revealing the sculpture’s original function as a statue-reliquary.The work has received critical recognition as one of the masterpieces of the early activity of Domenico di Niccolò dei Cori and one of the finest examples of the vein of delicate, closely observed naturalism typical of the late Gothic culture of this great Sienese sculptor. The refined and seemingly enameled painting of the flesh tones recalls the manner of the Sienese painter Andrea di Bartolo, who, according to documents, did work as a painter of wooden statues in the early fifteenth century. As has been amply underlined by the most recent studies on the subject, in Siena wooden sculpture was the fruit of close collaboration between the sculptor and painter. The sculptor shaped the forms out of wood, onto which a thin layer of plaster was then applied. This delicate operation – which could not compromise the quality of the carving in any degree – was preparatory to the addition of the color and details, done personally by the painter.
1400-1500
Carved and painted wood
90.0cm
Images and text © Monte dei Paschi di Siena, 2017
Ble byddwch chi'n dod o hyd i hwn
Museo San Donato (MPSArt)
Casgliad barhaol