Giotto's frescoes in the Upper Church of San Francesco in Assisi

The farmer, to whom Francis lent his mule as a mount, was tormented by thirst. Water comes bubbling out of the rocks in answer to the Saint s prayer. Giotto shows Francis praying fervently. The farmer, almost dying of thirst, collapses at the spring. As so often in Giotto's representations, figures - here the two Franciscans - comment on the scene with their glances and so anticipate the reaction of the viewer.

Giotto began his apprenticeship with Cimabue between the ages of ten and fourteen. A trip to Rome presumably rounded off the young painter's training, after which he followed his master to what was at that time the largest "building site" in Italy, the church of San Francesco in Assisi.

There, Cimabue was in charge of the decoration of the newly erected Upper Church. When he left Assisi to fulfil other obligations, several of his assistants and journeymen, including Giotto, stayed behind. At the same time, Roman painters, led by Jacopo Torriti, arrived in Assisi, so that several studio groups were working alongside one another. A short time later, Giotto became the independent leader of a workshop, and the Franciscan order assigned him the task of continuing with the decoration.

Giotto is regarded as the founder of the central tradition of Western painting because his work broke free from the stylizations of Byzantine art, introducing new ideals of naturalism and creating a convincing sense of pictorial space.

During the civil war in Arezzo, St. Francis saw demons over the city. He called upon a brother of his order, Sylvester, to drive them out. The picture area is dominated by the architecture of the city, which is divided from the rest of the world by a crack in the earth, and by the towering church building. Giotto portrays the saint deep in prayer in front of the latter. His strength seems to pass to Brother Sylvester, who raises his hand commandingly in the direction of the city of towers. Thereupon the demons flee, and the citizens can return to their business in peace - they can already be seen at the city gates.

According to the legend, the image in the church of San Damiano spoke to the young nobleman: "Francis, go and restore my house, which is in danger of collapsing". Giotto pictures Francis in a half ruined church, where the saint kneels before the painted crucifix, his arms raised in fright. This lively reaction and the perspectival structure make the events in the picture particularly vivid and intelligible.

During a meeting of the order, St. Anthony of Padua was preaching in the cloister at Aries - Giotto shows a generously proportioned Gothic room. Suddenly, Francis appeared. Giotto depicts the saint with outspread arms - the resulting shape of the cross alludes to his Christ-like life. Only St. Anthony, who had just been speaking about Christ, and one other member of the Order notice the apparition. Giotto shows all the others listening with full attention. The figures seen from the back are also particularly impressive, the artist making the weight of the bodies plain for all to see.

St. Francis came across a flock of birds that did not fly away at his approach. He gave a sermon to the expectantly waiting creatures, who only left the saint after receiving his blessing. As so often, Giotto makes plain the extraordinary nature of events through the reaction of a secondary figure - in this case, through the Franciscan friar, who raises his hand with a surprised expression on his face.