Nicholas Lochoff (d.1948) after

St. Francis Master (Giotto?)
ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI PREACHING TO THE BIRDS
Original (1320s) in the Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi Fresco

The original of this fresco is one of a series on the life of St. Francis painted for the church where St. Francis is buried in Assisi. This scene shows the power over and love for wild animals that St. Francis was said to have. Here, he delivers a sermon to the birds. In this reproduction, Lochoff shows the signs of age visible in the original. The background, painted with azurite, is shown with the signs of deterioration common in this material. At the bottom, the birds, done in tempera, have stayed on the ochre background, but have adhered badly in other places. The white lead in the paint of the rock at the lower right changed the paint from light to dark. Finally, Lochoff has duplicated the appearance of the hands which were painted on separate patches of plaster.

Text by Robert Gerwing.
Copyright 2004.