Saint Francis with the Blood of Christ is a c. 1490-1495 tempera and gold on panel painting by Carlo Crivelli, signed at bottom right OPUS CAROLI CRIVELLI VENETI / MILES VERUS". On the reverse is a heraldic emblem. It is now in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milan.[1] [2]
It shows Francis of Assisi (with his stigmata visible) collecting blood pouring from the side of Christ in a cup, with the column, the ropes and the stick with the vinegar-soaked sponge from the Flagellation and Passion of Christ. Christ himself holds a cross, from which hang other Instruments of the Passion (crown of thorns, whip, nails). The subject is a rare one in painting, mainly appearing in works from the Veneto such as Giovanni Bellini's The Blood of the Redeemer (National Gallery, London)[3] and Carpaccio's Christ between Four Angels (Udine). With St Francis as an active character, Crivelli's treatment of the theme differs from the ideas of Giacomo della Marca and thus represents a highly rare and personal idea provided by an unknown commissioner.
Probably for private devotion by a Franciscan friar and only 20 cm by 16.3 cm in size, the painting's commissioner is unknown. Traces of a hinge on the canvas support suggest it once had a lid, whilst a recent restoration has revealed the artist's signature from beneath later overpainting - its use of the title "MILES" means it post-dates 1490, when the artist was granted that title by Ferdinand of Aragon.