Saint Francis Kneeling in Meditation
Domenico Theotokópoulos, called El Greco
1595
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Domenico Theotokópoulos, called El Greco
1595
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Saint Francis Kneeling in Meditation is a 1595 oil by Domenico Theotokópoulos, called El Greco, a Mannerism work, depicting Francis of Assisi, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
This painting shows Saint Francis kneeling in meditation. He's surrounded by symbols of his sainthood, like a book and a skull. These symbols have special meanings: the book represents his studies and the skull reminds us of death. The artist made many versions of this scene, which tells us that Saint Francis was very popular. This popularity was especially strong in Toledo, Spain, where the artist worked. You can see more paintings like this one by learning about the technique of chiaroscuro.
Saint Francis appears here surrounded by symbols associated with his sainthood. The book, for example, speaks to his devotional studies, and the skull is a reminder of the inevitability of death. The painting prompts the viewer to meditate upon the saint in the same way that he prays before the sculpture of Christ. At least a dozen other versions of this composition by El Greco exist, evidence of Francis’s tremendous popularity in Toledo, Spain, where he made his career.
Possibly in the artist’s possession at the time of his death, 1614 [see 1614 inventory of the artist’s estate in Francisco de Borja de San Román y Fernández, El Greco en Toledo (1910), repr., with notes by Rafael Sancho, Toledo, 1982, pp. 205–08]. Don Clemente de Velasco, Madrid, by 1902, until 1926 [recorded in the Velasco collection in 1902 exh. cat. and in Mayer 1926, p. 19, no. 114, pl. 7]. Durlacher Brothers, New York, by 1935 [letter from R. Kirk Askew, Jr., Durlacher Brothers, to Robert Harshe, November 29, 1935, Art Institute Archives]; sold to the Art Institute, 1935.
Madrid, Museo del Prado, Exposición de las obras de Domenico Theotocópouli, llamado El Greco, April 30 - July 31, 1902, cat. 47. Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Spanish Paintings, Textiles, Furniture, Arms, and Pottery, 1936, no cat. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Masters of Spanish Painting, 1937, no cat. Norfolk, Va., Chrysler Museum of Art, The Genius of El Greco: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago, July 1–October 18, 1998, no cat. Paris, Grand Palais, Greco, October 14, 2019–February 10, 2020; Art Institute of Chicago, El Greco: Ambition and Defiance, March 7–June…
Read the full account in the museum source.
El Greco painted dramatic, elongated figures in oil on canvas, blending late Renaissance technique with something more spiritual and restless.
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