Artists throughout the centuries have been inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi, including Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. One of the artist’s early masterpieces is “Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy,” held in the collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Connecticut. This is the artist’s first known religious canvas and one of the most important Baroque paintings in an American museum collection. It showcases Caravaggio’s extraordinary style and technique: the theatrical use of light, naturalistic depictions of people and objects, and psychological narratives.
This painting is currently on view in a special exhibition at The National Gallery, London. The museum has congregated a wide range of artworks to explore the life and legacy of the 13th-century St. Francis that exalts his longstanding significance as patron saint of animals and nature, as well as his commitment to the poor….