Francisco de Zurbarán | Saint Francis in Meditation | NG230

About the work

This is one of Zurbarán’s most austere and intensely spiritual works. Saint Francis is shown kneeling in fervent prayer, his clasped hands cradling a skull. Shadow obscures his face, giving us only a glimpse of his features. He wears the robe of the Franciscans, the religious order he founded in the thirteenth century; its patched and tattered appearance draws to mind the vow of poverty taken by all the order’s members.

Zurbarán shows the saint in a moment of profound contemplation, his head tilted upwards and mouth slightly open. The skull is a symbol of death and refers to Christ’s crucifixion. Meditation on death was particularly favoured by the Jesuits, and saints contemplating skulls are frequently found in seventeenth-century Italian and Spanish painting.

Key facts

Full title: Saint Francis in Meditation
Artist: Francisco de Zurbarán
Artist dates: 1598 - 1664
Date made: 1635-9
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 152 × 99 cm
Acquisition credit: Bought, 1853
Inventory number: NG230
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Frame: 17th-century Spanish Frame

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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