Saint Francis Unknown Colonial

Español 

Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata. Late 17th – early 18th century (c. 1680–1730). Unknown Artist, Spanish or Colonial Latin American. Joseph Arakel Collection

This devotional painting presents Saint Francis of Assisi kneeling in prayer before the Crucifix, at Mount La Verna — the sacred site where, according to tradition, he received the stigmata in 1224. The moment depicted is one of intense spiritual ecstasy: Francis gazes upward, his hands raised, the wounds of Christ visibly impressed upon his palms and side. The artist captures the precise instant when divine grace and human suffering intersect, placing the viewer in the presence of a deeply personal mystical encounter. Continue reading after advertisement

Get this restored image, now on sale

The saint’s rough brown habit is rendered with remarkable sensitivity. Its frayed threads open at the site of the wound on his side, emphasizing both the physical reality of the stigmata and Francis’s radical embrace of poverty. The knotted cord around his waist hangs naturally rather than symmetrically, reinforcing the humility and unadorned spirituality central to Franciscan life. Attached to the cord is a small processional crucifix, along with a white inscribed banderole — a devotional element commonly used in early modern religious painting to suggest prayer, meditation, or sacred text made visible. Continue reading after advertisement

Get this restored image, now on sale

At the lower edge of the composition, a human skull rests quietly on the ground, a traditional memento mori symbolizing mortality and what Saint Francis lovingly called “Sister Death.” This detail anchors the mystical vision in the reality of human finitude, reminding the viewer that Francis’s holiness was forged not in abstraction, but through suffering, renunciation, and profound love of Christ crucified.

Although the artist remains unknown, the stylistic features — the direct emotional intensity, simplified forms, and emphasis on devotional clarity — suggest a work produced either in Spain or the Spanish colonial world, possibly New Spain or the Andean region. Today preserved within the Joseph Arakel Collection, this image stands as a powerful testament to the enduring Franciscan vision: a spirituality rooted in humility, compassion, and total conformity to Christ.

Get this restored image, now on sale

This image is a public domain image, which means either that copyright has expired in the image or the copyright holder has waived their copyright. Franciscan Gallery charges for the access to high resolution copy of the image. Manually restoration was necessary in order to improve quality, without covering the original image.