Saint Francis of Assisi

Stunning exhibition at the National Gallery on St Francis and how he has been perceived and represented.

The show was cleverly themed to also give a roughly chronically narrative as well. The central round room used the galleries panels by Sassetta from 1437-44 to tell the story of Francis’s life. It was lovely to see these hung at eye level so you could study the detail.

My favourite room was to one side and had the earliest images in the show. I was stunned by an altarpiece from about 1250-60 which may be the earliest image of the saint alongside a work which is said to be painted on the back of the board his body was washed on after his death.

The next room looked at Counter-Reformation images which used mystical images of Francis. It was wonderful to see Caravaggio’s picture of Francis with an angel over from America. I’m not sure I’d ever seen it in the flesh before.

The next two rooms looked at how later generations have seen Francis as an environmentalist and radical. I loved an image of Francis marrying Lady Poverty from about 1460, iconography which I’d not come across before.

This was a well-balanced show which managed to combine history and contemporary issues.

Closes 30 July 2023


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