Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata

an van Eyck is known as an innovator of veristic realism, not only for his meticulous portraiture but also for his stunning panoramic landscapes that appear to recede far into the distance. Predating the naturalistic landscapes of Leonardo da Vinci by over 50 years, paintings such as Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata demonstrate the Eyckian use of atmospheric perspective, and anticipate the later genre of the Baroque Dutch landscape tradition. Jan van Eyck positioned this scene in the rocky mountains of the legend, yet also included a miniature bustling Netherlandish city in the distance using his microscopic painting technique, a common trait of early Netherlandish book illumination and religious paintings. The style of the city's rendering lends credence to the theory of the artist's early career as a miniaturist.

Small paintings such as this one were sometimes made to commemorate a successful pilgrimage, or as a portable devotional piece to accompany the devotee on a journey. Although van Eyck's representation of this legend follows the original Franciscan text quite literally, as Joseph J. Rishel of the Philadelphia Museum of Art writes, "the scene is presented as a miracle being witnessed within the context of the whole sweep of nature and human life." This painting is among the earliest in Northern Renaissance art depicting the life of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Art historians have written  about the influence of this early work, stating: "Most Netherlandish copies are indirect quotations of the Saint Francis paintings. Many are by artists who were close to van Eyck's workshop, or who lived and worked in Bruges after [van Eyck's] death."  Also cited is how the influence went beyond Northern Europe to Florence at least briefly in the early 1470s, as a distinguished group of Florentine artists, including Botticelli, Verrocchio, and Filippino Lippi, copied elements of the rocky landscape and incorporated the motif of the small rock fountain in the foreground into compositions of their own.

This small 5-by-7 inch painting depicts an important moment during the saint's 40-day fast in the wilderness of Mount Penna (La Verna), when Francis of Assisi experienced a vision and received the stigmata, or wounds of the crucified Christ. The stigmata, which never heals, became the living proof of his holiness. Witness to the event is the crucified figure of Christ, who overlooks the monks, Francis and Leo, clad in the brown and grey habits that identify them as Franciscan. The depiction of the exhausted figures, however, has been described as anatomically awkward, and the two monks are not well integrated within the landscape (these may have been completed by assistants in the artist's workshop). 

This work is oil on Parchment or Vellum on Wooden Panel  and is housed in the John G. Johnson Collection, Philadelphia Museum, PA