Frescoes in the Upper Church of San Francesco, Assisi (1290s)
by Jacopo TORRITI

The frescoes above the gallery behind the crossing in the nave of the Upper Church show the unmistakable style of Jacopo Torriti who was chosen by Pope Nicholas IV for the mosaic decoration of the apsidal tribunes of San Giovanni Laterano (1291) and Santa Maria Maggiore (1296) in Rome. The frescoes in Assisi are earlier than the Roman mosaics, as is clear from their more old-fashioned approach to the representation of space.

The decorative program in the nave consists of the fresco cycle Legend of St Francis painted by Giotto beneath the gallery on the lower part of the wall, and episodes from the Old Testament above the gallery in the clerestory on the north wall, and episodes from the New Testament on the south wall. Some of these scenes as well as the vault with the Deesis were painted by Torriti and his assistants.

Reproductions of the frescoes in the Upper Church are listed in the Web Gallery of Art in sections of Cimabue, Giotto, Jacopo Torriti, Master of Saint Cecilia, Master of the Isaac Stories, and Unknown Italian Masters.

Preview Picture Data File Info Comment
View of the interior towards the altar
1290s
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

900*1209
True Color
169 Kb



Frescoes in the fourth bay of the nave
1290s
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

900*1050
True Color
183 Kb



Deësis vault
1290s
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

900*986
True Color
301 Kb



Deësis vault
1290s
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

742*905
True Color
172 Kb



Deësis vault
1290s
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

800*1001
True Color
242 Kb



Deësis vault (detail)
1290s
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

1004*1300
True Color
223 Kb



Scenes from the Old Testament: Creation of the World
1290s
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

901*1005
True Color
192 Kb



Scenes from the Old Testament: The Creation of Eve
c. 1290
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

850*1051
True Color
169 Kb



Scenes from the Old Testament: The Creation of Eve
c. 1290
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

850*1104
True Color
210 Kb



Scenes from the Old Testament: The Construction of the Ark
c. 1290
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

1115*780
True Color
166 Kb



Scenes from the Old Testament: The Construction of the Ark
c. 1290
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

1039*850
True Color
194 Kb



Scenes from the Old Testament: The Sacrifice of Isaac
c. 1290
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

850*1103
True Color
217 Kb



The Marriage at Cana
1290s
Fresco
Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi

850*973
True Color
147 Kb



Apse calotte
1288-91
Mosaic
San Giovanni Laterano, Rome

1200*782
True Color
233 Kb




Works by Jacopo Torriti
| Mosaics in Santa Maria Maggiore | Other works (mainly frescoes) |