Saint Francis renounces his Earthly Father

Francis of Assisi's father was a rich merchant who wanted his son in the family business. When the young man sold a horse and some cloth and gave the money to the church, the merchant went to the bishop to disinherit his son. According to the saint's official life, Francis answered by stripping off his clothes, handing them back and saying he now had no father but God. Sassetta stages the moment under pink arcades. The bishop wraps his cloak around the naked young man, the discarded boots and shirt lie in a heap, and the angry man, held back by a companion, clutches the costly red robe. Only his outstretched arm reaches across the arcade towards his son. Behind them a cleric walks past reading, paying no attention. The panel shares a single vanishing point with its neighbour from the same altarpiece, the saint giving his clothes to a poor knight, also in the National Gallery.