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Saint Francis in Ecstasy

1630/32 | Anthonis van Dyck

In his Life of St. Francis, St. Bonaventura tells of how an angel enchants the ill man with his lute as he meditates and so soothes his pains. It was exactly the lyricism characteristic of this scene that corresponded to the piety of the Catholic CounterReformation which saw it as epitomising devotion to pain as well as humility and contemplation. Van Dyck painted this picture of the stigmatised saint for the Jesuit College in Mecheln.

In his Life of St. Francis, St. Bonaventura tells of how an angel enchants the ill man with his lute as he meditates and so soothes his pains. It was exactly the lyricism characteristic of this scene that corresponded to the piety of the Catholic CounterReformation which saw it as epitomising devotion to pain as well as humility and contemplation. Van Dyck painted this picture of the stigmatised saint for the Jesuit College in Mecheln.

Artist:
Anthonis van Dyck (1599 Antwerpen - 1641 London) DNB

Time:
1630/32

Object Name
Painting

Culture
Flemish

Material/technology:
Canvas

Dimensions:
119,5 cm x 97 cm
Framed: 145 cm x 122 cm x 8,5 cm

Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie

Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 510

Provenance
1776 acquired from the Jesuit College in Mecheln

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