BERLINGHIERI, BONAVENTURA

(active 1228-1274)

   Italian painter, active in Lucca, the son of Berlinghiero Berlinghieri. Bonaventura is chiefly known for his St. Francis panel in the Church of San Francesco in Pescia, a small town near Lucca. The panel, painted in the Maniera Greca style, is signed and dated 1235 at St. Francis' feet, which means that it was painted only seven years after the saint's canonization (1228), making it the earliest known work to depict his story. Considered a second Christ, St. Francis is shown in a similar manner as the Christ in the Crucifixions of the 13th century. The saint stands in the center of the panel, the stigmata (wounds resembling those on Christ's crucified body) on his hands and feet clearly showing. At either side of the saint are scenes that narrate the visions he experienced, his preachings, and the miracles he effected. This makes clear that the purpose of the panel was to instruct the faithful on the cult of this newly canonized saint.