Mystic Marriage of Saint Francis
painting by Sassetta

The Mystic Marriage of Saint Francis is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Sassetta, now in the Musée Condé in Chantilly, France.
Description
The painting by Stefano di Giovanni di Consolo, known as il Sassetta (c. 1392 – 1450 or 1451), was originally part of a polyptych at Sansepolcro, where it was seen by Piero della Francesca.
It portrays Saint Francis of Assisi marrying the three Theological Virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity, through the donation of a ring to them. The three virtues have differently colored dresses: red for Charity, green for Hope and white for Faith. Behind Saint Francis, who wears his traditional brown monk's habit, is his companion Fra' Leone.
Alternatively, the painting illustrates the public pronouncement of Saint Francis's vows according to the evangelical counsels of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. Poverty, barefoot and wearing green, is central of the three female figures. A ring is being slipped on her finger as Francis makes his vow of poverty or perfect charity. Next to Poverty, Chastity is in white, and Obedience in red.
The public source identifies “Mystic Marriage of Saint Francis” as painting by Sassetta. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Mystic, Marriage and Saint.
Why this record matters
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3224317. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1392, 1450 and 1451.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mystic Marriage of Saint Francis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.