# Legend of St Francis: 15. Sermon to the Birds [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [GIOTTO di Bondone]() - Date: 1301-1350 - Technique: Fresco, 270 x 200 cm ## Commentary Legend of St Francis: 15. Sermon to the Birds 1297-99 Fresco, 270 x 200 cm Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi This is the fifteenth of the twenty-eight scenes \(twenty-five of which were painted by Giotto\) of the Legend of Saint Francis. The two scenes on the entrance wall are the Miracle of the Spring and the Sermon to the Birds, the compositions in which the hand of Giotto is most apparent. St. Francis came across a flock of birds that did not fly away at his approach. He gave a sermon to the expectantly waiting creatures, who only left the saint after receiving his blessing. As so often, Giotto makes plain the extraordinary nature of events through the reaction of a secondary figure - in this case, through the Franciscan friar, who raises his hand with a surprised expression on his face. <P> <TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR="\#99CCCC"> <TR VALIGN=MIDDLE><TD><IMG SRC="/support/gif/listen.gif" BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE> Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 5 minutes\):<BR><A HREF="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/music1/16\_cent/jannequin\_birds.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true"><B>Clément Jannequin: The Birds \(Le chant des oiseaux\)</B></A> </TD></TR></TABLE> ## Related artworks - [Allegory of Chastity \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of Chastity \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of Chastity \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of Obedience \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of Obedience \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of Poverty \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of Poverty \(detail\)]() - [Allegory of Poverty \(detail\)]() - [Apocalyptic Christ]() - [Ascension of Christ]() - [Badia Polyptych]() - [Baroncelli Polyptych: Coronation of the Virgin]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()