Saint Francis ( Sint Franciscus)

About this artwork.

The sandstone Francis is depicted in a monk's habit, in a begging posture. Around his waist he wears a rope with three knots and at his feet there is a bird. Francis (1182-1226), son of a wealthy cloth merchant in the Italian city of Assisi, founded in 1206 the men's Order of Friars Minor, also called mendicant monks.
 
The monks, who were called Franciscans, were recognisable by their brown monk's habit with wide collar, bare feet and the cord around the waist, with the three knots symbolising the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
 
When Francis died in 1226, he was widely revered. As a result, the legends about him quickly grew. Among other things, it was claimed that wild animals became tame in his presence and obeyed him. The bird at his feet is therefore a direct reference to the story that Francis preached to the birds, and that after his death the larks started singing in the middle of the night.
 
In 1228 Francis was canonised.
 
Saint Francis is placed near a school building at the Vinkenstraat 1. The statue, the maker of which is unknown, was made in 1939.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  maker onbekend

• District
  Oosterparkwijk

• Year of creation
  1939

• Art type
  Art in / on a building, Wall sculpture

• Material
  Sandstone, Paint

• Dimensions
  h 1,55 m