Giotto, The Raising of Lazarus

1309
Fresco
Mary Magdalene Chapel, Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi, Italy

From John 11:17-44. On the left Jesus arrives with the Apostles, who are identified as such by halos (11:17).

In the center, Mary and Martha throw themselves at Jesus' feet: this is from 11:32, which however does not mention Martha. Jesus then raises his hand and says the words inscribed above his hand, FORAS VENI LAZARUS, "Lazarus, come forth."

On the right, two bystanders have removed the stone covering the tomb and two Apostles are taking Lazarus forth (11:44), to the amazement of the villagers behind them, who had accompanied Mary to the tomb (11:31). The Apostle covering his nose for the stench (11:39) is gray-haired and the other a beardless youth, so probably the artist meant them as Peter and John, who are also shown directly behind Jesus on the left of the panel.

This panel is part of the Mary Magdalene cycle in the lower level of the church. It is most likely Giotto's work, but for questions about the attribution see Brooke, 433.

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Photographed at the basilica by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.