Saint Francis by Zurbaran
Saint Francis in Meditation by Francisco de Zurbarán (1658) oil on canvas.
Saint Francis, against a dark background, dressed in the typical Franciscan habit that expresses his poverty, is in a posture of prayer with his eyes to heaven, while he touches a skull with his hand.
The Baroque style is characterized by strong chiaroscuro contrasts (effects of light and shadow) caused by a spotlight located outside the painting, illuminating part of the face and garments, contrasting them with the dark areas, thus accentuating the drama.
The images of this period were intended to be placed in a church or convent chapel, to be admired by the dim light of candles. Therefore, the objective of the work was to move the faithful to imitate Saint Francis and adopt an attitude of contemplation.
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.
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