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Saint Francis in Meditation

Caravaggio

Michelangelo Merisi was an Italian painter active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily from the early 1590s to 1610. His paintings combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, and they had a formative influence on Baroque painting.

Max Resolution:375×470 PX

Title:Saint Francis in Meditation

Artists:Caravaggio

Date:c.1606

Style:Baroque,Tenebrism

Genre:religious painting

Medium:oil,canvas

Location:Museo Civico Ala Ponzone, Cremona, Italy

Dimensions:130×90 cm

Copyright:Public domain

Saint Francis in Meditation (c. 1604/06 or 1607/10), is a painting by the Italian master Caravaggio, in the Museo Civico, Cremona.

This is one of two paintings of almost identical measurements showing Saint Francis of Assisi contemplating a skull (see Saint Francis in Prayer) - neither is documented and both are disputed, although the dispute is as to whether they are originals or copies. The dating of both is highly uncertain, although the cypress trunk behind this Saint Francis is very reminiscent of the tree behind the Corsini John the Baptist. St Francis was a popular subject during the Counter-Reformation, when the Church stressed - at least officially - the virtues of poverty and the imitation of Christ.