Death of Saint Francis
Ca. 1885. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
This large-scale work of art is a sketch for the choir of the basilica of San Francisco el Grande (Saint Francis the Great) in Madrid. This version is almost identical to the mural painting, since its approval depended on the artist himself. The iconography of the scene was already planned by Carlos Luis de Ribera, who was inspired – as he stated – by the Golden Legend to depict the moment in which a crowd would approach, mourn and kiss Saint Francis of Assisi’s corpse upon learning of his death. Generally, the composition is arranged around the saint’s mortal remains and the bishop overseeing the funeral chapel. In the final painting, many figures can be recognised. Namely, Saint Clara and her colleague Jacqueline de Settesoli beside the deceased man’s feet. Nonetheless, most of the attendees are either anonymous members of the Franciscan community or of the pious public. The composition recalls – in an ancillary yet firm way – the colossal canvas made by Benito Mercadé y Fábregas (1821–1897), The Transportation of Saint Francis of Assisi (P001278), which shares iconographic similarities and which achieved the first-place medal in that year’s National Exhibition. It was acquired by the State for the Museo Nacional. Carlos Luis de Ribera surely had this in mind, since he was part of the jury that bestowed the award. The similarities both in the arrangement of the corpse in the heart of the composition and the gestures of Saint Clara and the rest of the characters had an evident echo in the joint work of Ribera and Plasencia. The singular compositional ability, the skill in depicting the movement of large masses of people and especially the architectural design of the background – with two lateral arches through which the light penetrates from behind, skilfully increasing and multiplying the impression of space – are resources handled with such dexterity, typical of those who belong to a generation trained in the golden years of history painting, like Ribera and Plasencia.
G. Navarro, Carlos, Los bocetos para la decoración de San Francisco el Grande (1880-1889). Boletín del Museo del Prado, 2003, p.67
