The death of St. Francis

Painted by Giotto, this fresco at the Bardi Chapel in the church of Santa Croce, is a deeply moving image showing St. Francis laying on his death bed surrounded by grieving followers and disciples. World’s first art historian Giorgio Vasari tells us that “Giotto taught paintings to cry”, which is a wonderful way of expressing what Giotto brought into Italian painting that hadn’t been there before… a sense of emotion and a sense of inner life. Join world-renowned art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon at Santa Croce to fully appreciate this marvellous painter.