2-999-954 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Funeral of Saint Francis of Assisi, c1430. A panel from the "predella," or illustrated base, of an altarpiece dedicated to Saint Francis, this image combines the funeral of the saint (died 1226) with his canonization, or declaration of sainthood, by Pope Gregory IX in 1228. The saint's body lies on a bier surrounded by a mourning crowd. The crowd includes fashionably dressed young men along with the lame and blind, who seek a miraculous cure by touching the saint's dead body. To the right, the seated pope writes the decree of canonization.