Object Description
A large antique Christian painting of the vision of Saint Francis
French, 19th Century
Frame: height 168cm, width 125cm, depth 5cm
Canvas: height 146cm, width 113cm
This impressive painting, executed in oil-on-canvas, depicts a familiar Christian scene of the vision of St Francis, before the enthroned Christ and Virgin Mary. It was painted probably in the course of the nineteenth century by a French artist (to judge from the signature ‘Foulon’) however it seems to take inspiration from Spanish Baroque paintings, particularly that of ‘The Vision of Saint Francis in the Portiuncula’ in the Museo del Prado by Bartolomeo Esteban Murillo.
The present work departs from that work most clearly in the addition of the various triumphant cherubs; the one to the top right bears on his shield the inscription ‘indulgencia plenaria pro omnibus et semper,’ (absolute forgiveness for all and always, in Spanish/Latin), which Christ holds a scroll also saying ‘indulgencia plenaria,’ celebrating Christ’s limitless forgiveness. The work likely has other Spanish models and examples from which it draws certain compositional elements, nevertheless, the painting itself is superbly executed, with a deft, skillful artistic touch, and pleasing treatment of the figures, particularly the main three in the centre, while the wings of the angel in the foreground also attest to considerable artistic talent and creativity.