Saint Francis

In the pictureA man in a brown habit appears at half length against a gold ground. His right hand is held palm forward to show a red wound, and his left holds a book with a red cover. His head is shaved at the crown in the manner of a friar, and his halo is ringed with a pattern of punched dots. Scratches from the years remain on the gold surface.

BackgroundFrancis was a 13th-century saint who gave up his possessions to embrace poverty, and before his death the five wounds of Christ are said to have appeared on his body. Holding the wounded hand forward is the conventional way of referring to that story, and the book stands for the rule of the order he founded. This small panel was probably one compartment of an altarpiece with a row of several saints.

Puzzle tipThe gold-ground pieces are confusingly alike in color, but they can be split into those with the dotted halo pattern and those without. Fit the face, hands and red book first, then join the brown habit along the light lines of its folds. 24 or 48 pieces works well.