Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata

1535–45

after Titian

(Italian, c. 1488–1576)

Culture

Italy, Venice

Medium

woodcut

Measurements

Image: 29.2 x 43.5 cm (11 1/2 x 17 1/8 in.); Sheet: 29.2 x 43.5 cm (11 1/2 x 17 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Delia E. Holden Fund 1960.160

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

The woodcutter cut the block to purposely imitate the drawing style of the composition's designer, Titian.

Description

In this woodland setting, the trees yield to the divine presence, which travels from the upper right sunburst through the forest, like a heavenly explosion, toward the figure of Saint Francis at left. Landscape was central to the story of the saint, who, Christian tradition says, spent years in the wilderness living as a beggar before he miraculously received the stigmata (wounds of Christ) during an ecstatic vision. Titian’s dramatic lines create a series of dynamic diagonals, heightening the moment of religious rapture and expressing God’s power through the wonderous riches of nature.