Saint Francis with the Blood of Christ
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Crivelli%2C_sangue_di_cristo.jpg/250px-Crivelli%2C_sangue_di_cristo.jpg)
Saint Francis with the Blood of Christ is a c. 1490-1495 tempera and gold on panel painting by Carlo Crivelli, signed at bottom right OPUS CAROLI CRIVELLI VENETI / MILES VERUS". On the reverse is a heraldic emblem. It is now in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milan.[1][2]
Description
It shows Francis of Assisi (with his stigmata visible) collecting blood pouring from the side of Christ in a cup, with the column, the ropes and the stick with the vinegar-soaked sponge from the Flagellation and Passion of Christ. Christ himself holds a cross, from which hang other Instruments of the Passion (crown of thorns, whip, nails). The subject is a rare one in painting, mainly appearing in works from the Veneto such as Giovanni Bellini's The Blood of the Redeemer (National Gallery, London)[3] and Carpaccio's Christ between Four Angels (Udine). With St Francis as an active character, Crivelli's treatment of the theme differs from the ideas of Giacomo della Marca and thus represents a highly rare and personal idea provided by an unknown commissioner.
Probably for private devotion by a Franciscan friar and only 20 cm by 16.3 cm in size, the painting's commissioner is unknown. Traces of a hinge on the canvas support suggest it once had a lid, whilst a recent restoration has revealed the artist's signature from beneath later overpainting - its use of the title "MILES" means it post-dates 1490, when the artist was granted that title by Ferdinand of Aragon.
References
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- Huldschinsky Madonna (c. 1460)
- Massa Fermana Altarpiece (1468)
- Porto San Giorgio Altarpiece (1470)
- Madonna with Child (c. 1470)
- 1472 Altarpiece (1472)
- Lenti Madonna (c. 1472–1473)
- Lochis Madonna (c. 1475)
- 1476 Altarpiece (1476)
- Saint Peter Martyr Altarpiece (c. 1476)
- Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1480)
- Madonna and Child (Ancona) (c. 1480)
- Madonna and Child with an Apple (c. 1480)
- San Domenico di Camerino Altarpiece (1482)
- The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius (1486)
- Madonna and Child with Saints and Donor (c. 1490)
- Madonna of the Swallow (c. 1490–1492)
- Saint Francis with the Blood of Christ (c. 1490–1495)