#transcept

Object 2: Cimabue, Crucifixion (Fresco, Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi)

Visual Description Guide

Study and be able to describe the following visual elements:

• Large fresco in the transept of the Upper Church at Assisi; lead-white pigments have oxidized, reversing light/dark values

• Christ's body displays a sinuous, lifeless slump — dramatically contorted

• Loincloth flaps violently as if in a howling wind, charged with kinetic energy

• Mary Magdalene and the centurion Longinus thrust arms desperately toward Christ

• Angels twist, fret, and cry — dynamic, emotionally charged figures in the upper register

• St. Francis kneels at the foot of the cross, miraculously 'present' at the Crucifixion

Major Themes to Address

• Franciscan devotion and the Passion of Christ: Francis's identification with Christ's sacrifice through his own stigmata

• Artistic license within sacred narrative: Cimabue uses dramatic spatial staging to tell the story of Christ's death

• Collapse of time in devotional imagery: Francis appears at the historical Crucifixion as an act of devotional transport

• Comparison with Byzantine models: Cimabue's emotional intensity pushes beyond the hieratic calm of Byzantine art

Significance & Socio-Cultural Context

• Painted for the Franciscan friars to meditate on sacrifice and to emulate Francis's example

• Francis's presence at the Crucifixion is a theological statement: his intense devotion collapses time

• The fresco site (both transepts) underscores the centrality of the Crucifixion to Franciscan identity

• Cimabue's dramatic style represents a bridge between Byzantine tradition and the emerging naturalism of the Italian Renaissance

Key Terms & Concepts

• Transept

• Stigmata

• Cimabue

• Passion of Christ

• Franciscan devotion