St. Francis Kneeling before Christ on the Cross

Sassetta painted St. Francis Kneeling before Christ on the Cross between 1437 and 1444. The work uses tempera and gold on wood. It is an example of the Sienese School’s style. Cleveland Museum of Art.

The painting’s medium involves tempera, a paste made from pigment and a binding agent, often egg yolk. Gold leaf adds a luminous quality to the background, typical in religious works of the era.

Sassetta was active in the early 15th century, contributing to the Sienese School. His work integrated Gothic elements with newer Florentine realism.

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.36