Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata by Camillo Procaccini

Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata 1593

print, etching

pencil drawn

toned paper

light pencil work

print

etching

pencil sketch

charcoal drawing

possibly oil pastel

charcoal art

pencil drawing

pencil work

italy

watercolor

This etching by Italian artist Camillo Procaccini, created in 1593, depicts the iconic moment when Saint Francis of Assisi receives the stigmata, the wounds of Christ, on Mount La Verna. The dramatic composition captures Francis kneeling in prayer as a seraph, with six wings, descends from the sky, his wounds visible in the clouds. The detailed background depicts a mountainous landscape with a distant town, creating a sense of isolation and contemplation. This work showcases Procaccini's mastery of etching, a technique that allowed him to render the intricate details of both the figure and the surrounding landscape.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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Francis is one of the most prominent saints of the Catholic Church. He lived 800 years ago and founded orders of monks, nuns, laypersons, and a separate one devoted to the protection of holy sites. Born to a rich family, he renounced wealth for a life of poverty and fasted in the wilderness for extended periods. Procaccini shows us the most famous moment of Francis’s life, as related by Brother Leo, whom we see reading just beyond the trees. After 40 days of fasting and prayer on a mountaintop, "Suddenly [Francis] saw a vision of a seraph, a six-winged angel on a cross. This angel gave him the gift of the five wounds of Christ" in the form of nail holes in his hands and feet, and a gash in his side. Procaccini’s dense network of nervous lines perfectly captures the emotional intensity of the mystical event.