Where Is St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata? Museum Location

Q: Where can I see Van Eyck's St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata?

This version is displayed at the Sabauda Gallery in Turin, Italy. A second version of the same composition exists at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and scholars debate which was painted first.

Q: What is the stigmata?

The stigmata are wounds corresponding to those Christ received during the Crucifixion. According to tradition, Saint Francis received these marks on Mount Alverna in 1224, becoming the first person to bear them, a sign of his deep identification with Christ's suffering.

Q: Who is the other figure in the painting?

The seated figure is Brother Leo, Francis's companion and confessor. Jan van Eyck shows him reading, apparently unaware of the miraculous vision occurring beside him on the rocky mountaintop.

This painting by Jan van Eyck tiny devotional panel around 1430-1432, showing Saint Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata on Mount Alverna. The moment captures Francis kneeling before a vision of Christ appearing as a seraph (six-winged angel), rays of light connecting Christ's wounds to corresponding points on Francis's hands, feet, and side. Brother Leo sits reading nearby, unaware of the miracle occurring beside him.

Two versions of this composition exist, one in Turin's Sabauda Gallery and another in Philadelphia. The miniaturist precision is breathtaking. Despite the panel's tiny scale, Van Eyck renders a vast landscape stretching to distant mountains, with individual rocks, plants, and architectural details clearly visible. A town with identifiable buildings appears in the valley below, demonstrating his ability to compress entire worlds into small spaces.

The work exemplifies the Northern Renaissance interest in combining intense religious feeling with careful observation of the natural world. Every element, from Francis's worn habit to the rocky outcropping where he kneels, receives equal attention. The panel now belongs to the Sabauda Gallery in Turin, Italy, where it stands among the finest examples of early Netherlandish religious painting.

This version is displayed at the Sabauda Gallery in Turin, Italy. A second version of the same composition exists at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and scholars debate which was painted first.

The stigmata are wounds corresponding to those Christ received during the Crucifixion. According to tradition, Saint Francis received these marks on Mount Alverna in 1224, becoming the first person to bear them, a sign of his deep identification with Christ's suffering.

The seated figure is Brother Leo, Francis's companion and confessor. Jan van Eyck shows him reading, apparently unaware of the miraculous vision occurring beside him on the rocky mountaintop.

The panel is remarkably small, demonstrating Van Eyck's extraordinary miniaturist technique. Despite its tiny scale, the landscape stretches to distant mountains with individual rocks, plants, and buildings rendered in precise detail.

St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Jan van Eyck

Eve, from the right wing of the Ghent Altarpiece

St. Jerome in his Study

The Cumaean Sibyl

Portrait of Cardinal Albergati

Also at Sabauda Gallery, Turin

The Annunciation

Related Northern Renaissance Works

Self-Portrait at Twenty-Eight

Portinari Altarpiece

Adam and Eve

Alliance Coat of Arms

Christ as the Man of Sorrows

Portrait of Albrecht Dürer the Elder

Fencing Reiter

Adam and Eve

About St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata

Own Art Like This