Saint Francis praying before the San Damiano Crucifix

Ca. 1787. Oil on canvas.
On display elsewhere

It is part of the series of thirty-three scenes from the Life of Saint Francis (Assisi, Italy, 1182-1226) painted for the basilica of San Francisco el Grande in Madrid. The painters José Camarón y Bonanat (1731-1803), Antonio Carnicero (1748-1814) and Manuel de la Cruz (1750-1792) were involved in this cycle, which belongs entirely to the Museo del Prado.

This scene, commissioned to its author for the decoration of the lower cloister, has been taken from the "Major Legend of St. Francis" (St. Bonaventure, Chapter II, 1) and represents the young Francis praying before the Christ of the ruined hermitage of San Damiano, on the outskirts of Assisi, and miraculously the image speaks to him instilling courage and perseverance for the reconstruction of the church.

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

See work in timeline

Series

Vida de San Francisco. Claustro de la Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande, Madrid

RDF

Technical data

Saint Francis praying before the San Damiano Crucifix

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Inventory number: P003488
Author: Zacarías González Velázquez
Title: Saint Francis praying before the San Damiano Crucifix
Date: Ca. 1787
Technique: Oil
Support: Canvas
Dimension: Height: 216.99998 cm; Width: 273 cm
Series: Vida de San Francisco. Claustro de la Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande, Madrid
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, nº24.

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. 57.

Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo del Prado: inventario general de pinturas (II). Museo de la Trinidad, Museo del Prado, Espasa Calpe, Madrid, 1991, pp. nº1020.

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, 1854. Núm. 1020.
1020. / Sn Fran.co arrodillado en traje maometano orando ante un crusifijo. Fs de cuerpo entº y tamº nat.l / Fdo Z.as Velázquez / Alto 2,16 1/2; ancho 2,72 / Id.id.id.