Curatorial Notes
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.
Artwork Identification
Title Saint Francis Kneeling in Meditation
Title (PT) São Francisco ajoelhado em meditação
Title (ES) San Francisco arrodillado en meditación
Artist Domenico Theotokópoulos, called El Greco
Artist Bio El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos; Greek, active in Spain, 1541–1614)
Date c. 1595–c. 1600
Work Type Painting
Location & Collection
Institution Art Institute of Chicago
Source View Museum Page
License Creative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0
