St. Francis also appears in another piece at the museum. This time in Giotto’s “Peruzzi Altarpiece,” so-called because the wealthy Peruzzi family commissioned the work, which is dated 1310-1315. Made with tempera and gilded gesso on poplar panel, it is one of the few remaining altarpieces by Giotto and the only one preserved outside of Europe. Like the altarpiece recently completed for St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly, this work is a polyptych – a painting with more than three panels. Giotto used vermilion, a bright red pigment, to communicate the importance of Jesus. The altarpiece was made for the family’s private chapel in the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence. The artist, Giotto di Bondone, is considered the father of the Italian Renaissance. In the painting, Christ is offering a blessing alongside St. John the Evangelist, the Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist and St. Francis. Enjoy this rare piece and the rest of the museum’s religious collection, which includes additional paintings of angels, the Holy Family and other saints.
Fall has a certain spiritual air and is a great time to pause and remember the angels among us. These purely spiritual beings are powerful messengers, guardians and agents of God’s will, but it can be easy to forget to call on them in times of need. In September, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Archangels Sept. 29 and the Feast of Guardian Angels Oct. 2. Call on these angels for just about any need or intention you may have.