Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata

The altarpiece was created circa 1445 as part of the predella for the Pala di Santa Lucia dei Magnoli in Florence, commissioned for the church's main altar. It remained on the main altar until the early 18th century, was relocated to the sacristy by 1728 and later to a side altar by 1762, where it stayed until the early 1800s. In the early 20th century the panel entered the market via Osvald Sirén, was bought by Julius Böhler in 1921, resold to Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, and acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in 1933; it was gifted to the National Gallery of Art in 1939.

Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., as part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. The panel was originally part of the predella of the Santa Lucia de' Magnoli altarpiece and remained on the main altar of that Florentine church until restoration work between 1712 and 1715 prompted its relocation. It was documented in the sacristy by 1728 and moved to the third altar on the right of the nave by 1762, where it likely remained into the early nineteenth century.

The predella was presumably dispersed in the early 1800s, after which the panel may have passed through Osvald Sirén in Stockholm. Julius Böhler of Munich purchased it on 6 May 1921, selling it the same year to Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi in Rome and Florence. The Samuel H. Kress Foundation acquired it in December 1933 and gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1939.

No exhibition history beyond this provenance chain is documented in the provided sources.

The painting was originally installed on the main altar of Santa Lucia de' Magnoli in Florence, later moving to the sacristy (1728) and a side altar (1762) before being dispersed in the 19th century; its provenance then passed through Osvald Sirén, Count Alessandro Contini‑Bonacossi, and the Samuel H. Kress Foundation to the National Gallery of Art‑3). Scholars note its innovative mountainous landscape, described as “prisms of light” that bridges late‑gothic and early‑Renaissance spatial treatment, and its expressive figures that depart from Byzantine conventions. Art historians place the work within Veneziano’s broader oeuvre as an early example of naturalistic scenery that anticipates Masaccio’s perspective experiments, marking a pivotal transition in 15th‑century Italian religious painting.

After leaving the church of Santa Lucia dei Magnoli in the early 18th century, the panel passed through several private hands: it was possibly owned by Osvald Sirén, then acquired by Julius Böhler in May 1921, sold that September to Count Alessandro Contini‑Bonacossi, and purchased by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in December 1933. In 1939 the Kress Foundation donated the work to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, where it remains part of the Kress collection. The painting has continued to attract scholarly attention, appearing in catalogue publications such as Francesca Salvadori’s 2005 study of the NGA.

Domenico Veneziano's painting, Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, created around 1448, is a tempera work on a poplar panel. This religious depiction captures a pivotal moment in the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, illustrating the miraculous event where he received the wounds of Christ. The artwork exemplifies the devotional art prevalent during the mid-15th century, focusing on spiritual narrative through a refined visual language.