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Secondary sourcePainting1490

St. Francis of Assisi showing his stigmata, Croesinck Master, 1490

Masters of the Dark Eyes: Croesinck Master · 1490

A dated 1490 manuscript page by the Masters of the Dark Eyes, showing a haloed monk with raised hands in a framed miniature. It is held by the KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

This 1490 manuscript miniature shows Francis with the stigmata, showing how the saint was portrayed in Dutch devotional books.

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Illuminated manuscript page with blue border decorated with gold flowers and lattice. Black-letter Dutch text in columns, with a red-letter heading. Central framed miniature shows a haloed monk in a grey robe with raised, open hands, against a gold and red background.
Masters of the Dark Eyes (Croesinck Master), St. Francis of Assisi showing his stigmata, 1490. Manuscript page, KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

About this source

What it is

This is an illuminated manuscript page dated 1490 and attributed to the Masters of the Dark Eyes, specifically the Croesinck Master. It has a blue border decorated with gold flowers and lattice, and black-letter Dutch text in columns with a red-letter heading. The page is held by the KB, National Library of the Netherlands.

The central framed miniature shows a haloed monk in a grey robe with raised, open hands, set against a gold and red background. The catalogue describes the figure as Francis showing his stigmata.

Why it matters

Francis died in 1226, and this page was painted in the Low Countries about 260 years later. It shows how the saint was pictured for readers in the late 15th century. The Dutch text and the decorated border show that such books were made for ordinary devotional use, not only for scholars.

Look closer

  • What do the raised, open hands of the monk suggest about his feelings or actions?
  • Who would have read this Dutch text, and what might they have done with the book?
  • What does this page leave out about the words Francis himself wrote or spoke?

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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