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The Birth of Saint Francis of Assisi

1555–1629
Not on view
Attributed to Camillo Procaccini by Jacob Bean, the rare subject of this drawing with ‘The Birth of Saint Francis’ has been identified by Nancy Ward Neilson (1979): Francis's mother, a lady of high station, wished to give birth to her first child in the stable of the family house in recollection of the humble birthplace of Jesus. In the background is visible the mysterious pilgrim visitor who, according to the Franciscan legend, announced the saintly vocation of the newborn son. Another Lombard representation of this story is a painting by Giovanni Mauro della Rovere (1575-1640), now in the Prepositurale di Saint Marco, Milan (see: Dipinti della Pinacoteca di Brera in deposito nelle chiese della Lombardia, 1, Milan 1969, p. 42, fig. 19). A copy of this drawing is in the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Birth of Saint Francis of Assisi
  • Artist: Camillo Procaccini (Italian, Bologna 1555–1629 Milan)
  • Date: 1555–1629
  • Medium: Pen and brown ink, brush and pale brown wash, on beige paper. Squared in charcoal
  • Dimensions: 6 1/8 × 5 3/16 in. (15.6 × 13.1 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Harry G. Sperling, 1971
  • Object Number: 1975.131.242
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, Camillo Procaccini Italian, Engraving
Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata
Camillo Procaccini
Justus Sadeler
1590–1620
Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Camillo Procaccini
n.d.
The Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, with Moses and Elijah, three disciples below
Camillo Procaccini
1587–90
Saint Francis receiving the stigmata, kneeling in a landscape with his arms outstretched
Camillo Procaccini
1593
Wilton album, folio 38a: The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
Camillo Procaccini
1583–1600

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