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Not until 1900, during restoration work in the church, did large sections of the old fresco decoration come to light again. The middle register of a depiction of the Last Judgment on the west wall of the basilica, fragments of the fresco of the Annunciation on the north wall, and two scenes from the story of Jacob on the south wall were uncovered. It is assumed that there were cycles of the Old and New Testament, respectively, on facing walls of the nave.
The fragment of Esau Appears to Isaac is on the south wall of the nave. It is probable that Cavallini was influenced by the Isaac frescoes in the Upper Church of San Francesco in Assisi. The posture of Isaac in bed; drawing back as he recognizes the deceit, raising his left hand in horror, the architecture of the bed-chamber - all correspond closely to motifs found in the Assisi fresco, though the artistic realization is clearly of lesser quality.
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