Known as Sassetta since the 18th century, Stefano di Giovanni was the most important artist in 15th century Siena, where he probably trained with Benedetto di Bindo and where he was inscribed with the guild of painters before 1428. His first documented work was an altarpiece for the Arte della Lana (guild of wool merchants) in 1423-6, while his masterpiece was the double-sided altarpiece for San Francesco, Borgo San Sepolcro 1437-1444.
Sassetta
active by 1427; died 1450
Paintings by Sassetta
(Showing 6 of 7 works)
According to his biography, the young Saint Francis of Assisi, the son of a wealthy merchant, gave his expensive clothes to a poor knight. The next night God sent him a vision of a great palace, and promised it to him and his soldiers (that is, the army of Franciscan friars he was to found). This...
In a vaulted green hall, Pope Honorious III blesses Saint Francis of Assisi, watched by assembled cardinals and various others. This is the third of a series of eight panels depicting episodes from Saint Francis’s life. They were part of a sumptuous double-sided altarpiece Sassetta made for the...
Not on display
Saint Francis of Assisi, eager to defend his faith through martyrdom, went to Syria to preach to its Muslim population around 1219, at the time of the Fifth Crusade (one of a series of invasions of Muslim countries by Christian armies attempting to recapture the Holy Land). He was captured and ta...
Under the arches of a pink arcade, Bishop Guido of Assisi wraps his cloak around the naked Saint Francis of Assisi. The saint’s discarded boots, shirt and hose lie in a heap on the floor. To the left, Francis’s father, enraged by his son’s rejection of their wealthy lifestyle, has snatched up the...
Saint Francis of Assisi died on 4 October 1226, surrounded by his friars at the chapel of the Portiuncula, outside Assisi. Rather than in a tiny chapel, here the saint lies on a bier in front of the altar of a large pink and blue church, surrounded by friars, church officials and other witnesses....
Saint Francis of Assisi kneels in a rocky landscape, hands raised in prayer, gazing up at a vision of Christ floating in the sky. Christ has the six wings of a seraphim and his arms are extended as if on the Cross. Rays from Christ’s stigmata – the wounds he received at the Crucifixion – impress...
In around 1220, Saint Francis of Assisi was living in Gubbio, Umbria. When a ferocious wolf began attacking livestock and people, Francis rebuked it, and tamed the animal by making the sign of the cross. He promised that, if it stopped terrorising the city, it would be forgiven and cared for. The...
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