Saint Francis in Prayer
1659. Oil on canvas.Room C
We can identify Saint Francis by his habit, his rope belt and the wound on his right hand. He raises his gaze towards heaven and holds a skull in his left hand. A crucifix rests on a book in front of him in this scene that presents him deep in prayer as a direct result of his meditations.
Painted in Madrid in 1659 during the final years of Zurbarán’s life, Saint Francis at Prayer is a paradigmatic example of the subjects, narrative formulas and descriptive techniques that characterize that final stage in his career. In 1650, he began a decided effort to expand his palette and to obtain greater tonal unity, eliminating the highly contrasted lighting that had previously characterized his work. That change reflected a desire to update his style in response to the public’s new interests, and this becomes clear when we compare the present work with earlier depictions of Saint Francis. While Zurbarán continues to play with the dramatic effect and the descriptive possibilities of contrasting light and shadows, his use of chiaroscuro is considerably toned down, his modeling is softer and the composition is filled with light, which therefore expands the range of colors. Here, the artist eschews his previously predominant dark and homogeneous backgrounds in favor of a luminous blue sky that brings out the figure of the saint.
Still, in this process of stylistic transformation, Zurbarán retained the main qualities responsible for his fame: both the saint and the objects alongside him are depicted with extraordinary precision and verisimilitude, and the scene is imbued with a highly successful sense of intimacy, serenity and devotion. Unlike his earlier and more static works, this one emphasizes a sense of time: the book and skull, the saint’s hand on his chest, and his raised gaze eloquently and successively imply the stages leading from meditation to prayer, shifting the action from inside of the painting (where the book and skull are), to the heavens above, where the saint is looking. This work, which belonged to Aureliano de Beruete, allows the Museo del Prado to present one of the subjects most directly associated with Zurbarán in a work of the maximum quality.
The painting is a companion-piece - sharing the same date, size and composition - to Saint Francis of Paola, also in the Prado (P008442). Both are superb examples of the shift towards greater luminosity and a more varied use of colour characteristic of Zurbarán’s later years.
Finaldi, Gabriele, 'Francisco de Zurbarán. San Francisco en oración'. en: Donación de Plácido Arango Arias al Museo del Prado, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2016, p.44-45 n.13
