Flemish school; second third of the XVII century.

Flemish school; second third of the seventeenth century.
"St. Francis receiving the stigmata".
Oil on copper.
It presents faults on the pictorial surface.
Measurements: 58 x 77 cm; 71 x 90 cm (frame).
Baroque painting realized on copper that shows Saint Francis of Assisi standing, receiving the stigmata of Christ crucified on his hands and feet. He appears accompanied by another Franciscan saint, who huddles on the ground with his rosary, frightened by the divine apparition. Faithful to the biblical narrative, a winged Christ bursts into the sky (in this case not winged but on the cross, inscribed in a typically baroque break of glory). Legend has it that the saint's stigmation took place on Mount Albernia, a place where he had retired and where the vision of Christ with six wings, nailed to a cross, took place. In a reflex way, the wounds of Jesus were reproduced on his body. The forest clearing has been reproduced with abundant foliage, and in the distance, a mountainous background can be seen. The rich earthy and sienna tones of the meadow turn to bluish tones on the horizon.
St. Francis receiving the stigmata was a popular chapter in the life of this saint born in Assisi in 1182. The son of a merchant, he abandoned the comforts of his family heritage to found one of the mendicant orders with the largest number of followers. St. Francis was canonized two years after his death, in 1228, and his biographer was Thomas of Celano. St. Francis died in the convent of the Portiuncula, a place near Assisi, where he met with his disciples. The stigmatization took place in 1224, on Mount Albernia, where the vision detailed by Thomas of Celano took place.