The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

The Virgin and Child Appearing to Saint Francis of Assisi

The Virgin and Child Appearing to Saint Francis of Assisi

1680s
(Italian, 1634–1705)
Italy, 17th century
oil on canvas
Framed: 273 x 229 x 10 cm (107 1/2 x 90 3/16 x 3 15/16 in.); Unframed: 239.4 x 195.7 cm (94 1/4 x 77 1/16 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1966.125
Location: 217 Italian Baroque

Description

This work represents the High Baroque tradition of illustrating the visions and ecstasies of holy figures. St. Francis stands to the right of the apparition of the Virgin and Child, while motioning to a mother with three young infants, a symbolic representation of Charity. A popular Italian saint, St. Francis of Assisi (1181?- 1226) was famed for his many holy visions and was reported to have received the stigmata, bodily punctures that echoed the crucifixion wounds of Christ. Close observation of the painting reveals that Giordano originally painted St. Francis motioning his hands towards the Virgin and Child, perhaps reaching for the Infant Christ. In the final version, however, St. Francis gestures to the figure of Charity, as a witness to the saint's spiritual vision. The saint thus serves as the intermediary for humankind, appealing to the Virgin and Child for the sake of Charity. St. Francis, the founder of the Franciscan order of monastics, dedicated his life to assisting the poor and remains one of the most popular Catholic saints.
  • Private collection (Florence, Italy), sold through Heim Gallery (Paris, France), to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 116 archive.org
    Ferrari, Oreste, and Giuseppe Scavizzi. Luca Giordano. Napoli, Italy: Edizioni scientifiche italiane, 1966. Mentioned: p. 91-92, 94; Reproduced fig. 181
    Lee, Sherman E. "Golden Anniversary Acquisitions." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art LIII, no. 7 (September, 1966): 181-285. Reproduced: p. 214; Mentioned: p. 279, no. 59
    Young, M. S. “Letter from U.S.A: Great Guns at Detroit and Cleveland.” Apollo: The International Magazine for Collectors 84 (September 1966): 237–38. Mentioned: P. 239-240; Reproduced: P. 241
    "Accessions of American and Canadian Museums." The Art Quarterly XXIX, no. 3-4 (1966): 289-318. Reproduced: P. 301
    Lurie, Ann Tzeutschler. "Luca Giordano: The Apparition of the Virgin to Saint Francis of Assisi." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art LV, no. 2 (February, 1968): 39-52. Reproduced: cover, fig. 1
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 116 archive.org
    Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth-Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1972. Mentioned: p. 85, p. 398, p. 574
    Trkulja, Silvia Meloni. "Luca Giordano a Firenze." Paragone: Mensile di Arte Figurativa e Letteratura XXIII, no. 267 (May 1972): 25-74. Mentioned: P. 52, n. 51
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 140 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Mentioned: p. 349; Reproduced: p. 350
    Ferrari, Oreste, Luca Giordano, and Giuseppe Scavizzi. Luca Giordano: l'opera completa. Napoli, Italy: Electa, 1992. Reproduced: p. 80
  • Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).
  • {{cite web|title=The Virgin and Child Appearing to Saint Francis of Assisi|url=false|author=Luca Giordano|year=1680s|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.125