Who painted The Ecstasy of Saint Francis?

The Ecstasy of Saint Francis was painted by Giovanni Baglione in 1601.

Where can I see The Ecstasy of Saint Francis?

The Ecstasy of Saint Francis is held by Art Institute of Chicago.

What movement is The Ecstasy of Saint Francis?

The Ecstasy of Saint Francis is associated with Baroque.

Can I buy a print of The Ecstasy of Saint Francis?

Museum-quality prints of The Ecstasy of Saint Francis are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

The Ecstasy of Saint Francis

Giovanni Baglione , 1601

The Ecstasy of Saint Francis is an oil painting by the Baroque artist Giovanni Baglione. It dates from 1601 and is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

About this work

Overview

Saint Francis swoons in ecstasy into the arms of an angel after meditating on the instruments used to torture Jesus, presented by another angel on the left.

Generally considered Giovanni Baglione’s most accomplished painting, this work is his first known “Caravaggesque” picture—that is, one that incorporates the innovative use of realistic figure types and dramatic lighting favored by the painter Caravaggio beginning in the late 1590s. Saint Francis swoons in ecstasy into the arms of an angel after meditating on the instruments used to torture Jesus, presented by another angel on the left. Baglione’s brief Caravaggesque phase ended after 1603, when, in an infamous trial, he accused Caravaggio of slander for having distributed a series of malicious poems about him.

History & Provenance

Possibly Cardinal Bernardino Spada, Rome, to 1636 [see February 1636 inventory cited by Aurigemma, 1994]. Borghese Collection, Rome by 1650, probably until 1804 [Benedetti 1949, p. 4]. Cardinal Joseph Fesch, Rome [Benedetti, 1949, p. 4]; donated by him to the city of Lyon, France for a charity auction in 1836 [Benedetti 1949, p. 4]. M. Breval of Fontaine St. Martin, near Lyon [note in 1909 Louvre photo archive]. Henry Charles Ponsonby Moore, 10th Earl of Drogheda, London and Dublin, to 1947 [purchase document from Agnew, March 1959]; sold by Earl of Drogheda through Agnew’s, London, to Michele de Benedetti, Rome, in June 1947; consigned by Benedetti to Agnew’s, 1959 [purchase document from Agnew, March 1959]; sold by Agnew’s to Mrs. Suzette Morton Zurcher (died 1996) (later Davidson), Santa Barbara and Chicago, March 1959; bequeathed to the Art Institute with her husband Eugene Davidson (died 2002) having life interest, 2002.