Master of the Cross 434

This 13th-century Italian painter made devotional panels with gilded backgrounds and sharp, stylized figures. Their Stigmata of Saint Francis shows the saint receiving Christ’s wounds in a rocky landscape, tiny gold halos hovering above each head. The figures stand flat against the gold, as if lit from behind, a style called maniera greca. See how the rocky ledge cuts the scene in half—one side earth, the other heaven. For more gold-ground stories, tap the scene where Saint Francis preaches to the birds.