Why go
The lower church offers a close comparison between Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti, while the larger basilica shows how narrative painting became central to Franciscan storytelling. Look beyond famous names to the arrangement of figures, gestures and related episodes. The contrasts are visible across the church’s painted spaces.
The full story
In the Basilica of San Francesco, fresco served as a principal way to tell sacred stories across broad church walls. The lower church contains work by Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti, alongside painting associated with other masters. Lorenzetti’s scenes of the Crucifixion, Deposition and Entombment turn grief into a shared drama through the placement and gestures of the figures. His Madonna dei Tramonti offers a different, quieter image. Martini’s paintings use color and carefully described figures to draw attention to character as well as event. The basilica’s upper and lower levels developed through separate campaigns involving many artists, including some whose names are lost. Attributions, especially for scenes of Francis’s life, remain debated, so a useful way to look is to compare what the paintings do rather than attach every scene to one master. Moving from crowded narrative to still devotional image makes the range of this art visible.