Artwork
The Investiture of Saint Clare: the Saint receiving the clothes of her Order from Saint Francis
The Investiture of Saint Clare: the Saint receiving the clothes of her Order from Saint Francis is an unspecified painting by the Early Renaissance artist Giovanni di Paolo. It dates from 1457 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Overview
Giovanni di Paolo’s 1457 panel, titled *The Investiture of Saint Clare*, portrays the moment Saint Clare of Assisi receives the habit of her order from Saint Francis. Executed in tempera on wood, the work is part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin and exemplifies mid‑Quattrocento devotional imagery.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure, a kneeling Clare in a light brown habit, holds a folded cloth as Saint Francis and an accompanying monk present her with the religious garments that signify her new vocation. The solemn expressions and the presence of a crucifix underscore the spiritual gravity of the investiture, marking Clare’s formal entry into the Franciscan tradition.
Technique & Style
Di Paolo employs a restrained palette of earth tones, rendering the figures with delicate linear modeling characteristic of Sienese painting. The interior space is rendered with simple architectural elements—a stone room, an arched window opening onto a courtyard—creating a calm, contemplative atmosphere that focuses attention on the ritual act.
History & Provenance
Created in 1457, the panel remained in private collections before entering the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, in the early twentieth century. Documentation traces its ownership through several European collectors, reflecting the work’s appeal to connoisseurs of early Italian religious art.
Context
The scene reflects the 13th‑century foundation of the Poor Clares, a monastic order founded by Clare under the guidance of Francis of Assisi. By the mid‑1400s, such investiture scenes served both as visual hagiography and as models of piety for viewers, reinforcing the ideals of humility and obedience central to Franciscan spirituality.
Artist & collection
Artist
Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia was an Italian painter, working primarily in Siena, becoming a prolific painter and illustrator of manuscripts, including Dante's texts.
The Adoration of the Magi
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple
Madonna and Child with Two Angels and a Donor
Paradise
Saint Catherine of Siena Beseeching Christ to Resuscitate Her Mother
Saint Catherine of Siena Receiving the Stigmata
The Annunciation to Zacharias; (verso) The Angel of the Annunciation
The Creation of the World and the Expulsion from Paradise
