The Birth of Saint Francis of Assisi
Camillo Procaccini
1555–1629 · Pen and brown ink, brush and pale brown wash, on beige paper. Squared in charcoal · Drawings and Prints
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.
- Artist
- Camillo Procaccini
- Date
- 1555–1629
- Medium
- Pen and brown ink, brush and pale brown wash, on beige paper. Squared in charcoal
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Credit line
- Bequest of Harry G. Sperling, 1971
