Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePaintingc. 1295–1300

St. Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata

Giotto · c. 1295–1300

Giotto's signed altarpiece showing Francis receiving the stigmata at La Verna, with scenes from his life below, now in the Louvre.

This altarpiece presents Francis's stigmata as the defining proof of his sainthood.

Ask Saint Francis about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Painting on a gold-leaf background in a pointed gabled frame. A kneeling friar in a brown habit with a gold halo raises his hands toward a winged seraph descending from the upper right, with rays linking them. Rocky hillside, trees, and small white buildings surround them. Three small scenes line the bottom panel.
Giotto, St. Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata, c. 1295–1300. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

About this source

What it is

This tempera panel painting, made by the Florentine artist Giotto around 1295–1300 for the Church of San Francesco in Pisa, shows Francis kneeling as he receives the stigmata from a seraph. Below, a predella shows three more scenes from his life, including the sermon to the birds. It is signed and now hangs in the Louvre, having been taken to France in 1813.

Why it matters

The painting marks a shift away from stiff, symbolic religious art toward showing a dramatic moment of action, a change historians credit to Giotto. It presents the stigmata as the defining proof of Francis's holiness, and its later removal to the Louvre also reflects the history of art looted during the Napoleonic wars.

Look closer

  • How does Giotto use light and gesture to show the intensity of the moment?
  • Why do you think the artist included smaller scenes from Francis's life around the main image?
  • What does the painting's journey from Pisa to Paris tell us about how art can change hands over time?

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.

More Saint Francis sources

Meet the AI Saint Francis →
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

Book

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

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Saint Francis now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions