St. Francis

Giovanni Bellini’s St. Francis is known by many names including The Ecstasy of St. Francis, St. Francis in the Desert, and The Stigmatization of St. Francis [1]. All of these given names could describe the piece well as it is a depiction of St. Francis receiving the stigmata, or wounds of Christ, and who appears to be overwhelmed in joy as he stands in a dry landscape. The biblical scene Bellini is portraying is that of St. Francis of Assisi as he receives the stigmata as it believed that he did in 1224 during a retreat on Mount Alverna [2]. 

Bellini’s masterpiece is very different from traditional religious pieces of the Renaissance. He does not use the normal props of divinity such as golden rays and halos of light around religiously important figures, he is adapting to the new naturalistic way of interpreting Biblical moments seen more in Netherlandish Renaissance art [3]. He uses light to frame the religious moment, Bellini does this by showing St. Francis throwing his head back and looking upwards to the sun, and presumably to the heavens. The transcendental light illuminates him as well as the rocky mountainside behind him. His masterful use of color, trademark of Venetian art in this time period, allows Bellini to create shadows and highlights to give this painting depth and the illusion of the divinity occurring simultaneously. 

Bellini’s attention to detail is astounding in this piece as well. The landscape is littered with animals, birds, a castle, a skull and book, and rolling hills. The animals around him and the shepard with his flock remain oblivious to the divine occurrence happening around them but instead represent his love and patronage of animals [4]. His attention to detail, realsitic landscape, and naturalistic stlye all contribute to making this Bellini piece a special work of art.

1. “GIOVANNI BELLINI'S ST. FRANCIS,” Neri Pozza Editore S.p.a., https://www.jstor.org/stable/43139926.

2. Giovanni Bellini, “St. Francis in the Desert,” – Works – collections.frick.org, accessed            November 11, 2020, https://collections.frick.org/objects/39/st-francis-in-the-desert.

3. Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, Dr. Beth Harris, and Dr. Steven Zucker, “Giovanni Bellini, St. Francis in the Desert (or St. Francis in Ecstasy),” Smarthistory, November 18, 2015,   https://smarthistory.org/bellini-st-francis-in-the-desert-st-francis-in-ecstasy/.

4. “St. Francis of Assisi,” The Humane Society of the United States, accessed November 11, 2020, https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/st-francis-assisi.

Giovanni Bellini

Bellini, Giovanni. “St. Francis in the Desert.” – Works – collections.frick.org. Accessed November 11, 2020. https://collections.frick.org/objects/39/st-francis-in-the-desert.

Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, Dr. Beth Harris, and Dr. Steven Zucker. “Giovanni Bellini, St. Francis in the Desert (or St. Francis in Ecstasy).” Smarthistory, November 18, 2015. https://smarthistory.org/bellini-st-francis-in-the-desert-st-francis-in-ecstasy/.

Giovanni Bellini, European; Southern European; Italian, c.1430-1516. c. 1480. St. Francis in the Desert. Paintings. Place: The Frick Collection, New York, New York, USA, Purchased, 15.1.3, http://www.frick.org/. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AMICO_FRICK_103804828.

Meiss, Millard. "GIOVANNI BELLINI'S ST. FRANCIS." Saggi E Memorie Di Storia Dell'arte 3 (1963): 9-146. Accessed November 11, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43139926.

“St. Francis of Assisi.” The Humane Society of the United States. Accessed November 11, 2020. https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/st-francis-assisi.

Image Soruce:
Giovanni Bellini, European; Southern European; Italian, c.1430-1516. c. 1480. St. Francis in the Desert. Paintings. Place: The Frick Collection, New York, New York, USA, Purchased, 15.1.3, http://www.frick.org/. https://library.artstor.org/asset/AMICO_FRICK_103804828.

C. 1480

Olivia Migli

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Tempera and oil on poplar panel, 124.4 x 141.9 cm

Painting

The Frick Collection, New York, New York, USA