November 13, 2011. (Romereports.com) The profile of a demon was uncovered last week in one of the frescoes in the Basilica of St. Francis in the Italian city of Assisi. Until now, the figure has gone unnoticed for 8 centuries. The historian Chiara Frugoni made the discovery. It comes from a scene in the series on the Life of St. Francis, painted by Giotto in the late thirteenth century.
It's the scene of the death of Saint Francis and symbolizes the
acquittal of his soul and his arrival in heaven. The Italian painter
drew a black devil with two horns emerging from the clouds.
Some have called it an artistic intrusion on the scene. But the
historian Frugoni explains that in medieval times it was believed that
demons lived in the sky and delayed the advancement of souls.
Some friars of the convent have noted the importance of this discovery
for catechesis. According to them, the artist intended to draw evil away
from his life.
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