id: 138444 accession number: 1962.36 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.36 updated: 2021-03-27 12:15:16.476000 St. Francis Kneeling before Christ on the Cross, 1437-1444. Sassetta (Italian, 1392-1450). Tempera and gold on wood; framed: 91 x 46.5 x 4.5 cm (35 13/16 x 18 5/16 x 1 3/4 in.); unframed: 81 x 40.2 cm (31 7/8 x 15 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1962.36 title: St. Francis Kneeling before Christ on the Cross title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1437-1444 creation date earliest: 1437 creation date latest: 1444 current location: 100 1916 Lobby creditline: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund copyright: --- culture: Italy, 15th century technique: tempera and gold on wood department: Medieval Art collection: MED - Medieval Art type: Painting find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Sassetta (Italian, 1392-1450) - artist --- measurements: Framed: 91 x 46.5 x 4.5 cm (35 13/16 x 18 5/16 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 81 x 40.2 cm (31 7/8 x 15 13/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Year in Review - 1962 opening date: 1962-10-24T04:00:00 Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962). title: Gothic Art 1360-1440 opening date: 1963-08-06T04:00:00 Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963). title: The Caporali Missal: A Masterpiece of Renaissance Illumination opening date: 2013-02-17T00:00:00 The Caporali Missal: A Masterpiece of Renaissance Illumination. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 17-June 2, 2013). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Fliegel, Stephen N. The Caporali Missal: A Masterpiece of Renaissance Illumination. Published on the occasion of the exhibition "The Caporali Missal: A Masterpiece of Renaissance Illumination" held 17 Feb to 2 June 2013 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books, imprint of Prestel Publishing, 2013. Cat 15, pg 110-1.

The Cleveland Museum of Art (02/17/2013 - 06/02/2013): "Caporali" --- PROVENANCE S. Francesco, Borgo Sansepolcro (broken up c. 1578); Prince Johann Georg of Saxony (by 1936); Gerhard Freiherr von Preuschen, Stuttgart (1950); (P. Drey, New York) date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: Because of his simplicity, piety, and devotion to all living creatures, Saint Francis (1181–1226) has remained among the most revered and popular saints. Born to wealthy parents in Assisi, he first lived a life of spendthrift luxury. However, Francis later gave up all worldly goods and embraced an existence of utter poverty. Throughout his adult life, the saint experienced mystical trances and visions of Christ. Atop the cross here is a leafy tree and a nest of pelicans. Fifteenth-century viewers would have recognized the tree as a reference to the cross, which is often described as a tree, symbolizing Christ's role as the source of eternal life. The pelican, shown nourishing its young with its own blood, symbolizes Christ, who sacrifices himself for the salvation of mankind. This painting was the center pinnacle on the back of a double-sided altarpiece made for the church of San Francesco in Borgo Sansepolcro (near Arezzo). --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. page number: Reproduced: p. 58 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n82 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. page number: Reproduced: p. 58 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n82 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 66 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n86 --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1962.36/1962.36_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1962.36/1962.36_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1962.36/1962.36_full.tif