Vission of Saint Francis of Paola by Murillo

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Vision of Saint Francis by Bartolome Esteban Murillo. This painting depicts the heavenly vision of Saint Francis of Paola (1416–1507). Inspired by the spirituality of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis of Paula would go on to found his own Order (Order of Minims), committed to perpetual abstinence and acts of humility, also based on Franciscan penance and minority. The saint experiences a vision in which the word “Charitas” (meaning Charity),  presented here in a landscape of desolation and gloom, looking up at the sky, upon an aureole of golden light. The ball of light is surrounded by a graceful group of 5 little angels. The word became the motto of the Minims, and appears on the order’s heraldic crest. This scene in the distance refers to a miracle in which Francis calmed a stormy sea and ferried the men across the Straits of Messina on his cloak after they had been refused passage on a ship. San Francisco de Paula was a 15th century Italian friar and later hermit, known for his extremely austere life. Oil on canvas (1670). Paul Getty Museum