The devil was hidden in the details of clouds in the cycle of the scenes in the life and death of St Francis painted by Giotto in the 13th century. The discovery was made by Italian art historian Chiara Frugone where a profile of a figure with a hooked nose, a sly smile, and dark horns hidden among the clouds in the panel of the scene depicting the death of St Francis.
The chief restorer of the basilica, said Giotto probably never wanted the image of the devil to be a main part of the fresco and may have painted it in among the clouds.
The master may have painted it to spite someone he knew by portraying him as a devil in the painting, according to Fusetti. The artwork in the basilica in the convent where St Francis is buried was last restored after it was damaged by an earthquake in 1997.
