Death and Ascension of Saint Francis

Death and Ascension of Saint Francis represents both the end of the saint's earthly life and his heavenly glorification. The fresco unites two closely related narrative levels within a single composition: below, Francis's body lies on a funeral bier surrounded by friars and clerics expressing grief, reverence and prayer; above, his soul rises toward heaven in a luminous cloud accompanied by angels.

The image thus establishes a visual transition between death and salvation, human mourning and spiritual triumph. Francis's body forms the horizontal axis of the lower register and provides the compositional foundation of the scene. The friars gather closely around him in varied attitudes: some bend over the corpse, others contemplate or venerate his wounds, while others stand in prayer.