Saint Francis of Assisi; Base with Putti

Saint Francis reveals the stigmata, or wounds of Christ, which he received miraculously toward the end of his life in 1224. Since the saint did not suffer martyrdom, his wounds were considered a sign of his special closeness to Jesus. They became a principal feature of representations of the saint during the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic response to the criticisms of the Protestant Reformation. Nicolo Roccatagliata was a master of bronze sculpture and probably executed this statuette during a decade of activity based in Venice that began in 1593.