# St Francis in Prayer before the Crucifix

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/st-francis-in-prayer-before-the-crucifix-rf7b1301a3a9ba4>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [GRECO, El](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f>)
- Date: 1551-1600
- Technique: Oil on canvas, 106 x 87 cm

## Commentary

This painting comes from the Carmelite convent in Cuerva, Toledo, founded by dona Aldonza, the sister of cardinal Nino de Guevara, who probably commissioned the work directly from the painter. As was usual during this stage in his career, which was fully consolidated in Toledo, El Greco signed his name in minute Greek letters on the small piece of paper depicted on the floor. The representation of St Francis of Assisi is one of the most popular themes of devotion and one of those that El Greco repeated the most. Here the ascetic figure of the saint, dressed in rough clothes, is silhouetted against the dark ground of the cave at Mount of La Verna where he is praying before a crucifix which, together with the skull and the book on the rock, composes a superb still-life. The painting is rendered by means of swift brushstrokes that dissolve into one another; bold touches of carmine, characteristic of the artist&#39;s technique, have been applied to intensify certain areas of flesh such as the lips. &lt;p&gt; &lt;table align=left cellpadding=5 border=1 width=320 bgcolor=&#34;\#99cccc&#34;&gt; &lt;tr valign=middle&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&#34;/support/gif/listen.gif&#34; border=0 valign=middle&gt; Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 33 minutes\):&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&#34;\#&#34; onClick=&#34;w=window.open \(&#39;/music1/18\_cent/haydn\_m\_mass.html&#39;, &#39;newWin&#39;, &#39;scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350&#39;\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true&#34;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Michael Haydn: St Francis Mass&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/table&gt;

## Related artworks

- [A Boy Blowing on an Ember to Light a Candle \(Soplón\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/a-boy-blowing-on-an-ember-to-light-a-candle-sopln-r2a0840a197cc6c>)
- [A Lady in a Fur Wrap](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/a-lady-in-a-fur-wrap-r17bc5af266ec1e>)
- [A Prelate](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/a-prelate-r6752ef04ade0b8>)
- [A View of Toledo \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/a-view-of-toledo-detail-rde83c353dd06aa>)
- [A View of Toledo](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/a-view-of-toledo-rc066c9db2d5956>)
- [Adoration of the Shepherds \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/adoration-of-the-shepherds-detail-r381069254ae37c>)
- [Adoration of the Shepherds](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/adoration-of-the-shepherds-r56f9b10b626e37>)
- [Adoration of the Shepherds](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/adoration-of-the-shepherds-rd06d926a03bd14>)
- [Allegory of the Camaldolese Order](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/allegory-of-the-camaldolese-order-rad53af523c9428>)
- [Altarpiece](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/altarpiece-r3f59efc9f08380>)
- [An Allegory with a Boy Lighting a Candle in the Company of an Ape and a Fool \(Fábula\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/an-allegory-with-a-boy-lighting-a-candle-in-the-company-of-an-ape-and-a-fool-fbula-r4b154dc2b33ffa>)
- [An Allegory with a Boy Lighting a Candle in the Company of an Ape and a Fool \(Fábula\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/greco-el-r8ef3afacca162f/an-allegory-with-a-boy-lighting-a-candle-in-the-company-of-an-ape-and-a-fool-fbula-rb252535edad9f2>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)