Comparing Medieval and Renaissance Paintings of St. Francis

What do you see and notice in the medieval painting by an unknown artist (The Stigmatization of St. Francis)?

Hannah, Willow and Anna: In this painting, there are hardly any vibrant colors (the church is the only thing with vibrant colors).

It looks like St. Francis is being impaled by lasers!

The painting doesn't look very realistic. For example the skin tones of the people are grey and not realistic, and Francis’s head is tilted at an unnatural angle that would never happen in real life.

James A.: The painting has the people angled sideways, like ancient Egyptian paintings.

Sophia and Isabel G.: The perspective is wrong. The trees are a lot smaller than St. Francis.

Alejandra and Chloe Z.: St. Francis is as large as the house and almost as large as the mountain.

Justin and Travis: Jesus is clearly visible, and he is giving the stigmata to St. Francis. In the Renaissance painting, you cannot see Jesus, so St Francis’ stigmatization is less dramatic and obvious.

What do you see and notice in Bellini's painting (St. Francis in the Desert)?

Landon and Xavier: The man is looking towards the sky. Maybe he’s looking towards god.

Burke: I see a rabbit burrowed in the ground near St. Francis, just to get close to him. This symbolizes his connection with animals.

What are the differences between the two paintings?

Caden: There's much more landscape in Bellini's painting than in the medieval painting.

Chloe P.B. and Greer: There’s more detail in Bellini’s painting than the medieval painting.

Cabria and Sofia: The Renaissance painting tells more of a story.

Griffin: The Renaissance painter was a lot better at showing distance and perspective than the person from the Middle Ages.

Brynne: How about a similarity instead?! A similarity between the two paintings is that in the medieval painting, the pink building is on a mountain or hill, and in the second painting, the castle is on the hill.

“For Bellini, landscape and nature did not just create an emotional tone — landscape and nature were also symbolic of God’s presence in all of nature.” 

Explain this quote...

Hannah, Willow and Anna (#2): The shepherd and all of the sheep may have been a symbol of God’s presence, because in the Bible they always talk about how God is a shepherd and the people are the sheep.

Justin and Travis (#2): It looks like the trees are bending over from the wind, which could show God’s presence in nature.

Will: The rabbit is observing St. Francis, and God’s presence in St. Francis might have drawn the rabbit to him. The leaves on the structure St. Francis has built show that God is always on top of St. Francis and looking down on him. Also, the tree is getting blown in the direction of St. Francis, similar to the rabbit.

Rowen: There is a bright light in the sky (in the upper lefthand corner of the painting).

And an excellent criticism of Bellini's painting, from Isabelle V. and Chloe M.: Did they draw good shadows in the Renaissance? Where the light is coming from, the donkey should have a shadow, but he doesn't!