Ecstasy of St Francis by Valdes Leal 1684
Juan de Valdés Leal (1622–1690) was one of the defining painters of the late Spanish Baroque, working during the final decades of Seville’s Golden Age. Although he is sometimes overshadowed today by his contemporary Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Valdés Leal was highly regarded in his time and excelled not only in painting, but also in sculpture and printmaking. His mature works are distinguished by intense drama, expressive figures, and a bold use of tenebrism, placing strong highlights against deep shadow to heighten emotional impact.
This painting depicts the moment immediately following the stigmatization of Saint Francis of Assisi in 1224. Rather than showing the seraphic vision itself, Valdés Leal presents the ecstasy that follows: Saint Francis collapses in rapture, supported not by a single angel as is more typical in earlier Italian versions, but by two angels who lift and steady his body. The scene unfolds in near-monochrome tones, with the figure emerging from a background of velvety blacks and silvery grays, creating a somber atmosphere in which light appears almost supernatural. The stigmata are visible on the saint’s hand, while he clutches the crucifix, his eyes half-closed in spiritual surrender.
The dramatic composition, the close physical proximity of the figures, and the striking lack of narrative background all recall the influence of Caravaggio and later Caravaggisti. Valdés Leal brings the viewer directly into the saint’s intimate moment of mystical union, emphasizing emotional intensity over descriptive detail. In the context of Counter-Reformation Spain, such imagery encouraged believers to contemplate the depth of Francis’s devotion and to aspire to a similarly total union with Christ.
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