Saint Francis - The Fields 1953

Benton Spruance made this lithograph, Saint Francis - The Fields, using dark black outlines, and patches of yellow, orange, and brown. I bet the artist started with the drawing, mapping out the figures and their relation to one another. Then, the color comes in: what to emphasize, what to mute, and what to leave out. I wonder what it was like for Spruance working on this piece, adding layers of color, scraping back, and seeing the image shift and emerge. The way the colors bleed into each other creates an image that feels both earthy and ethereal, as if the figures are not quite here and not quite gone. They are present, but they are also of another world. Look at how Saint Francis' hands are drawn—so simply, yet so full of expression. It reminds me of the work of artists like Kathe Kollwitz, who used simple gestures to convey deep emotion. It is as if these artists are whispering secrets across time. The art of image-making—it’s all about being sensitive, responding to the world, and adding to the conversation.