St. Francis Mourned by St. Clare

Italian artist Giotto di Bondone painted this St. Francis Mourned by St. Clare as part of his fresco cycle in Assisi. The scene shows Saint Clare and other followers grieving over the body of Saint Francis. Giotto's figures display genuine human emotion, a radical departure from the stylized Byzantine tradition.

This fresco helped establish Giotto as the founder of Western painting. His solid, three-dimensional figures and natural expressions influenced all subsequent European art. The work remains at the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.