Saint Francis receives the stigmatta by Fedele da San Biagio

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Padre Fedele da San Biagio (1784), Saint Francis receives the Stigmata

This painting is attributed to Padre Fedele da San Biagio (Matteo Sebastiano Palermo Tirrito), an Italian Capuchin friar, writer, and painter born into a noble family of San Biagio. From a young age, he entered the archiepiscopal seminary of Agrigento, where he distinguished himself not only in classical studies but also in painting, a talent that would shape his life’s work. He received the Capuchin habit in 1739 and was ordained a priest in 1745. His artistic training included study with Olivio Sozzi in Palermo and later with Sebastiano Conca in Rome, where he attended the prestigious Accademia di San Luca. He would return to Rome in 1765 for an especially productive period, creating works to be presented to popes, cardinals, and members of the Congregation of Sacred Rites.

Padre Fedele became the official painter of the Capuchin Order in Sicily, producing an extensive body of work that included altarpieces, devotional images, and large cycles dedicated to patriarchs and founders of religious orders. His output was remarkable in scale: 156 altarpieces and roughly 3,000 works in total, many preserved across Sicily and central Italy, including Palermo, Sciacca, Alcamo, Ribera, Rome, and Viterbo. Upon his death, his body was mummified and placed in the Capuchin catacombs of Santa Maria della Pace in Palermo, where it remains.

In The Stigmatization of Saint Francis, the artist depicts the mystical moment on Mount La Verna when Francis receives the wounds of Christ. The composition is dominated by a cool rose-pink palette with undertones of violet-blue and warm brown accents. Francis, overcome by the divine experience, falls backward, his expression showing both awe and exhaustion, as though on the verge of fainting. An angel swiftly supports him, extending an arm and leg to ease his collapse, embodying both tenderness and heavenly intervention. Rays of light, the carriers of the stigmata, connect Francis to Christ (depicted as a seraphic presence just beyond the visible edge of the scene), while a cluster of cherubs peer from surrounding clouds, witnessing the miracle in reverent wonder.

To the right sits Brother Leo, absorbed in quiet prayer, a book resting on his lap. His calm stillness contrasts with the dramatic spiritual event unfolding before him, underscoring the mystery and interiority of Francis’s experience. The delicate balance of movement and contemplation, light and color, expresses the painter’s devotional sensitivity and the Capuchin tradition of heartfelt, mystical religiosity.

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This image is a public domain image, which means either that copyright has expired in the image or the copyright holder has waived their copyright. Franciscan Gallery charges for the access to high resolution copy of the image. Manually restoration was necessary in order to improve quality, without covering the original image.