The Middle Ages in perspective
Francis is naked, tied to a rope and carried by his brothers through the streets of the town of Assisi, while a pyrotechnic baroque carnival is taking place all around him. It is a strange, surreal scene: a penance that Francis imposes on himself for eating chicken, breaching the strict vegetarian diet that he had imposed on himself.
In this chapel, once again, Francis and Jesus’ lives are compared: many details of the scene recall the events of the Passion, when Jesus was led naked, with a red cloak and crowned with thorns, through the streets of Jerusalem.
Through Francis, the story told in the New Testament not only repeats itself, but also becomes current: medieval Assisi is represented as an imaginary and spectacular Baroque city. The crowd wears contemporary, puffy, flashy clothing as in an extravagant party reminiscent of the 17th century Roman carnival and which deliberately contrasts the humble and penitent attitude of Francis.