Antonio de Torres (Mexican 1666-1731) and workshop

Francis of Assisi is renowned as a holy man who communed with Nature and is venerated across many lands. Born to a rich merchant family in Italy he gave up his wealth to follow God in poverty and founded a mendicant order that is still extant. The figure of the saintly man is here depicted not conversing with Nature of his flock of little birds but instead, reflects on his own mortality as he prays with hands that hold a crucifix while looking at a skull. Francis towers over the landscape; his face, as well as his hands and feet which bear his stigmata, are prominently highlighted. The three knots in his cincture denote the three branches of the Franciscans-Friars Minor, Poor Clares and secular Tertiaries, as scholar Marcus Burke has noted. Stark yet powerful, this composition is deeply inspirational and portrays Francis in devotion.