Follower of Solimena, 19th century

Italian school of the 19th century. Follower of FRANCESCO SOLIMENA (Italy, 1657 - 1747).
"The Ecstasy of St. Francis".
Oil on canvas.
Presents faults in the frame.
Measurements: 125 x 98 cm; 153 x 127 cm (frame).

In this canvas, close to the plastic of the Neapolitan Francesco Solimena, the author offers us an image of Saint Francis of Assisi, dressed with the Franciscan sackcloth, with a cord of three knots tied to the waist that is hardly appreciated. The three knots represent the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The work represents the legend of the Saint in his last days, when, already sick and dying, an angel approaches him to play the lute to comfort him in his last heartbeats. The baroque theatricality, the chromatic plasticity, the audacious play of chiaroscuro, the naturalism printed in the drapery... are characteristic of Solimena's work.