Crucifixion and Stigmatization
Crucifixion and the Stigmatization of Saint Francis of Assisi (Sterbini Diptych), by an unknown master during the third–fourth decade of the 14th century. Tempera on panel — Palazzo Venezia, Rome
The Sterbini Diptych, attributed to the anonymous Master of the Sterbini Diptych, is a small but richly symbolic devotional object dating from the third or fourth decade of the fourteenth century. Originally hinged together, its two panels combine iconic sacred figures with narrative episodes drawn from the life of Christ and the saints. The left panel presents the Virgin Mary in half-figure with the Christ Child and Saint Joseph, who offers the Child a small robin—a traditional symbol foreshadowing Christ’s future Passion. Beneath them appear three standing saints: Lawrence, Philip, and John the Baptist. The right panel, however, shifts the viewer’s focus toward the mystery of redemption through suffering.
The upper register of the right panel depicts the Crucifixion. Christ hangs upon the Cross while the Virgin Mary and Saint John stand in mourning, their bodies bent in grief beneath the darkened sky. At the foot of the Cross kneels Mary Magdalene, embracing the base of the wood in a gesture of profound sorrow and devotion. This scene, central to Christian meditation especially during the season of Lent, recalls the sacrifice through which salvation is accomplished. The figures’ restrained gestures and solemn expressions draw the viewer into a contemplative participation in the drama of Calvary. Continue reading after advertisement
Directly below this sacred moment appears another deeply Franciscan meditation on the Passion: Saint Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata. Kneeling upon the rocky slopes of Mount La Verna, Francis lifts his arms in astonishment and reverence as rays from the crucified Christ impress upon his body the wounds of the Passion. In Franciscan spirituality, the stigmatization represents the saint’s profound union with Christ, a mystical participation in the suffering of the Crucified. Beside him stands Saint Louis of Toulouse, the Franciscan bishop and royal saint, reinforcing the Franciscan identity of the devotional program.
The juxtaposition of these two scenes—the historical Crucifixion and the mystical stigmatization—creates a powerful theological connection. Christ’s suffering on Calvary becomes spiritually present in the life of Saint Francis, whose love and contemplation of the Passion lead him to bear the wounds of Christ himself. In this way, the diptych invites the faithful viewer to move from witnessing the sacrifice of Christ to contemplating its transformative power in the lives of the saints. Especially during Lent, the image becomes a meditation on imitation of Christ: the path of humility, suffering, and love that leads to union with the Crucified Lord.
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