St. Francis of Assisi at Prayer

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo depicts St. Francis in deep contemplation, his hands clasped in prayer. The saint wears the brown Franciscan habit, his face illuminated by divine light while the background fades into darkness. Murillo's tender treatment of religious subjects made him enormously popular.

St. Francis was a favorite subject for Spanish Baroque painters, who appreciated his humility and connection to nature. Murillo shows the saint in ecstatic devotion, his upturned eyes suggesting mystical communion. This painting resides at the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium.