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Secondary sourcePainting1454

St. Francis of Assisi Receives the Stigmata

Jean le Tavernier · 1454

A 1454 pen-and-ink illumination showing Francis of Assisi kneeling before a winged seraph as he receives the stigmata.

A medieval illumination depicting Francis of Assisi's legendary reception of the stigmata.

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Pen-and-ink drawing in a manuscript page with a decorative border. A kneeling friar with a halo, hands raised, faces a winged seraph in the upper left clouds. Small animals and a rocky landscape surround him; a robed figure watches at right. Below is gothic script text.
Jean le Tavernier, St. Francis of Assisi Receives the Stigmata, 1454. KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

About this source

What it is

This is a decorated manuscript illumination created in 1454 by Jean le Tavernier. It depicts a kneeling, haloed friar with raised hands facing a winged seraph in the clouds, surrounded by small animals and a rocky landscape, with a robed figure watching nearby. The manuscript page is held by the KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

Why it matters

Made over two centuries after Francis's death, this image reflects how the story of his stigmata — the wounds said to mirror Christ's — was retold and illustrated in medieval manuscripts. It shows the artistic conventions used by illuminators like Jean le Tavernier to depict sacred, miraculous events for readers of devotional books.

Look closer

  • What details in the drawing suggest that the kneeling figure is meant to be seen as holy?
  • Why do you think the artist included small animals and a rocky landscape around the scene?
  • This image was made over 200 years after Francis died — what does that tell you about how it should be read as evidence?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Francis on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Manuscript page in Latin with black gothic script and red initial letter M and red-highlighted lines, with handwritten marginal notes on the right. The text includes 'Altissimu onnipotente bon signore' and 'Laudes creaturarum', consistent with the Canticle of the Sun.Book

Primary source

Canticle of the Sun

Francis of Assisi · 1226

Photograph of a small, aged parchment sheet sealed in a metal-framed case. It has faded brown ink text in Latin with red headings, a large hand-drawn red and brown Tau cross with a figure-like sketch, and a few lines of writing at the bottom.Document

Primary source

Chartula fratri Leonis

Francis of Assisi · 1224

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Secondary source

First Life of Saint Francis

Thomas of Celano · 1230

Gold-background panel painting in a gabled wooden frame. A standing robed friar with a halo holds a book and raises one hand, flanked by two angels above. Smaller framed scenes in the side panels show his life events in colorful architecture.Painting

Secondary source

Saint Francis of Assisi and Scenes of His Life

Bonaventura Berlinghieri · 1235

Aerial view of the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi on a hilltop, with its pink-toned stone walls, a tall bell tower, and a large sloping retaining wall. A parking area and winding road are below, with green valley and hills in the distance under a cloudy sky.Artifact

Secondary source

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi

begun 1228

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