Saint Francis Embracing a Leper

Ca. 1787. Oil on canvas.
On display elsewhere

The painting belongs to the series of thirty-three scenes on the “Life of Saint Francis” (Assisi, Italy, 1182–1226) commissioned for the Basilica of Saint Francis the Great in Madrid. This series belongs entirely to the Museo del Prado. The painters José Camarón y Bonanat (1731–1803), Antonio Carnicero (1748–1814) and Manuel de la Cruz (1750-1792) were involved in its execution.

The Patronage commissioned this work for the decoration of the lower cloister. The artist took the scene from the "Legenda Maior" (Chapter I, 5), which is a biography of Francis of Assisi by Saint Bonaventure. The work depicts the young Francis, still dressed in the luxurious clothes of a rich knight, as he dismounts from his steed to kiss a leper.

Díez, José Luis (dir.), Pintura del Siglo XIX en el Museo del Prado: catálogo general, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2015, p.240

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Series

Serie Vida de San Francisco - Claustro de la Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande

RDF

Technical data

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Inventory number: P003484
Author: Zacarías González Velázquez
Title: Saint Francis Embracing a Leper
Date: Ca. 1787
Technique: Oil
Support: Canvas
Dimension: Height: 216.99998 cm; Width: 274 cm
Series: Serie Vida de San Francisco - Claustro de la Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande
Provenance: Commission from the Patronage of the Basilica of Saint Francis the Great (Madrid) to the artist for the decoration of the lower cloister, 1786; Museo de la Trinidad, 1836–1872.
Entry date: 1872

Bibliography +

Ponz, Antonio, Viage de España. Vol. I, Joachin Ibarra, Madrid, 1793, pp. 109.

García Barriuso, Patrocinio, San Francisco el Grande de Madrid: aportación documental para su historia, Madrid, 1975, pp. 499, nº27.

Espinós, Adela; Orihuela, Mercedes y Royo Villanova, Mercedes, "El Prado disperso". Cuadros depositados en Madrid. I. Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande, Boletín del Museo del Prado, I, 1980, pp. 56.

Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo del Prado: inventario general de pinturas (II). Museo de la Trinidad, Museo del Prado, Espasa Calpe, Madrid, 1991, pp. nº1019.

Díez, José Luis (dir.), Pintura del Siglo XIX en el Museo del Prado: catálogo general, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2015, pp. 240.

Other inventories +

Inv. Museo de la Trinidad, Pintura. Núm. 1019.
1019 / Sn Franc.co en traje de maometano abrazando a un leproso con un caballo a su espalda q.e sostiene de la d.ra mano f.s de cuerpo entº y tamº nat.l / Autor Zacarías Velázquez / Alto 2,16 1/2; ancho 2,72 / Id.id.id.