Francis of Assisi

Subtitled 'Paintings for our Time' and with an introduction by Jeremy Naydler, this is an exquisite book that anyone would be pleased to receive as a present. Like many people, I have long been drawn to the spirit of St Francis and the way in which he related to the natural world. Greg Tricker narrates his own journey to Assisi and St Francis, who 'holds a unique perception, an all-embracing passion for life and a way of seeing the world anew.' He reaches the heart and sees the sacred in all things. Jeremy Naydler points out that Francis was an extremist who shed everything in his quest for radical simplicity and became an embodiment of the love of Christ. There is a section on the historical background and on the orders of St Francis. The book has around sixty colour plates, each with a commentary or quotation on the left hand side. Many key episodes of St Francis's life are portrayed in paintings, line drawings and sculptures. As Tricker says, St Francis reaches the spirit in each being, and this emerges strongly from each page. Here is one of his arresting quotations: 'poverty is to have nothing, to wish for nothing, yet to possess all things truly in the spirit of freedom.'