The Story
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone (c. 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italian mystic, poet and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Christian life of poverty, he became a beggar and an itinerant preacher. One of the most venerated figures in Christianity, Francis was canonized by Pope Gregory IX on 16 July 1228.
He is commonly portrayed wearing a brown habit with a rope tied around his waist, featuring three knots symbolizing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In 1219, Francis went to Egypt in an attempt to convert the sultan Al-Kamil and put an end to the conflict of the Fifth Crusade. In 1223, he arranged for the first live nativity scene as part of the annual Christmas celebration in Greccio.
Executed in Silk (warp, weft, and pile); asymmetrically knotted pile, measuring Rug: L. 94 7/8 in. (241 cm) W. 70 1/16 in. (178 cm) Mount: L. 103 1/4 in. (262.3 cm) W. 78 in. (198.1 cm) D. 3 in. (7.6 cm) Wt. 206 lbs. (93.4 kg), the surface rewards close looking. Caravaggio builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
