Franciscan Allegories
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Plate 1

Plate 2

Franciscan Allegories - Allegory of Giotto di Bondone
Allegory of Poverty
c. 1330, Fresco, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi

Franciscan Allegories - Allegory of Giotto di Bondone
Allegory of Chastity (detail)
c. 1330, Fresco, Lower Church, San Francesco, Assisi

"Of the four frescoes which cover the arched compartments of the vaulting [of the lower Church of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi], three are allegorically representative of the vows of the Franciscan Order—Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience—the fourth depicts the Glory of St. Francis. Much has been said and written regarding the original conception of these works, and many writers are of the opinion that Giotto was especially indebted to Dante Alighieri for the arrangement of his subjects. Such an opinion, however, is devoid of any reasonable grounds for support ; and in all probability, in the general representation of his subject matter, Giotto followed the suggestions of his employers, who had in turn enlarged upon the writings of the earlier Franciscans. However this may have been, the master has succeeded in handing down to posterity three of the most perfect allegorical pictures that the Christian world has ever known—works which, in their clear conciseness of conception and of thought, are broadly characteristic of the painter's spirit.

Taking the frescoes in their usual order, we may begin with that in which Giotto has represented the allegorical marriage of St. Francis with his " Lady Poverty. (Plate 2) The master has, principally as an aid to the symmetry of the composition, represented the mystic ceremony as taking place upon the summit of a bare and shelving hill. Upon the highest and central ledge of rock, Christ Himself blesses the union of the Saint with his chosen Bride. Dignified and noble is the figure of the Redeemer, and full of calm- expression. That of Poverty is tall and emaciated, clad in a patched and ragged gown supported about her waist by the Franciscan girdle ; over her head she wears a tattered scarf held by a hempen fillet. She stands amid briars and thorns, but roses and tall lilies flower behind her and about her head. Faith, Charity, and Hope stand in attendance at her left ; the last-named seems to answer for the bride, and with her bears the hexagonal nimbus distinctive of the Virtues. Charity holds in her hand a heart, and from her head, garlanded with roses, spring flames of living fire. St. Francis stands in profile to the left, beardless and comparatively young, clad in the habit of his order, and about to place the ring upon the finger of his Lady. Below, a boy casts stones at the ragged bride ; another smites her with a rod, and a dog, following their example, barks savagely at the gaunt apparition on the rock above, so unconscious of them all in the absorbing solemnity of the moment. On each side of the principal group stands a glorious choir of angels, tall and splendid beings, rapt witnesses of the mysterious celebration. Lower down, to the extreme left, a youth is in the act of divesting himself of his outer garment, and about to give it to an aged beggar ; an angel holds him by the arm and points upward to the central figures in the scene. In the opposite foreground, three men, symbolic of earthly greed and pleasure, turn from the gentle admonishments of another angel, who seeks to draw their attention to the main event that is taking place above. One of the a, grasping a bag of gold, appears not to disregard the angel's words, but the spirit of avarice seems to gain a painful victory over his heart ; a second, cloaked and covered in his hood, appears to be less moved ; and the third, with a falcon on his wrist, openly spurns, with a scoffing gesture, the advice of his angelic counsellor. In the space above, two angels float upwards, one of them bearing a garment and a bag of gold, the other a miniature palace with an inclosed garden, both of which gifts, representative of the worldly goods given up in charity, are received with outstretched arms by the figure of the Almighty, leaning from the clouds of Heaven.

No less concise and clearly rendered is the allegory of Chastity (Plate 3 and 3a), which fills the following fresco. On the summit, again, of a bare and fissured hill, rises a tall and stately tower, protected by a battlemented fortress from all outward danger of attack. The white banner of Purity flies above the building, and below it hangs the bell of constant Vigilance. Through the open window of the tower can be seen the veiled figure of Chastity herself, engaged in prayer. Toward her two angels fly, bearing in their hands a book and vase of palm-leaves. In the fore-ground before the fortress, two others are baptizing a youth in a quadrangular marble font ; two more stand in attendance, bearing the convert's garments; Purity and Fortitude lean from the walls and present him with a banner and a shield. Stately bearded warriors, winged and armoured, carrying bucklers and the symbol of Penitence, the scourge, guard the precincts of the castle. To the right, three beautiful angelic figures, clad in monk-like garments, and armed with the symbols of the Passion, beat back a hoard of evil spirits into the depths below. Near them, hooded Penitence drives off, with his scourge, the monstrous figure of Earthly Love—a creature with the body of a youth and the talons of a harpy, blindfolded and crowned with roses, with a string of human hearts hanging from the belt which holds his quiver. To the left, a more peaceful scene is taking place, where St. Francis, accompanied by two angels, is welcoming a monk, a nun, and a lay-brother—evidently representative of the three divisions of his order.

Next comes the allegory of Obedience (Plate 1). Seated in an open Romanesque loggia, Giotto has represented the winged figure of Obedience, dressed in the Franciscan garb, a yoke about his neck, about to place a second upon the shoulders of a kneeling friar, who bends his head devoutly to receive it. To the right sits the double-headed figure of Prudence, crowned, and holding in her hands a compass and a small round mirror. Under the corresponding arch to the right is the charming figure of Humility, bareheaded, with flowing hair, clad in a simple gown, and holding in her outstretched hand a lighted taper. In the foreground before her, a centaur-like monstrosity, with the body of a man, the fore-legs of a horse, the hind-quarters of a dog, and a serpent-like tail, starts back upon its haunches as it struck by a ray of light from the mirror held by Prudence, towards whom the angel near by points. This weird being is probably symbolic of the vices contrary to the virtues here represented. Opposite, a second angel draws the attention of two kneeling youths to the figure of Humility. To either side is a group of kneeling angels, vying in loveliness with those in the preceding fresco. In the upper part of the painting, St. Francis stands upon the roof of the loggia, a cross in his left hand, a yoke upon his shoulders. The hands of the Almighty appear from out of the clouds, grasping the end of the saint's girdle, as if to draw him by it up to Heaven. Two angels kneel beside him, bearing open scrolls symbolic of the rules of the Franciscan Order.

(quoted from an old text, dated 1912)