St. Claire

Saint Clare’s pose seems more appropriate for a portrait than a devotional painting. Her plane brown habit occupies the space where a lady’s elaborate gown would normally seize the viewer’s attention. She holds a monstrance—an ornamental vessel for the Eucharist or communion wafer. The artist has painted an image of the Crucifixion on the host exhibited within the gold container.

Bedoli was an outstanding portraitist. His scrupulous attention to detail allowed him to accurately paint an individual’s likeness and to match them with decorative objects and surfaces that captured their personality. As the founder of the Poor Clares or the sister order of the Franciscans, the prominence of the saint’s habit in this painting expresses her commitment to a life of poverty.