Saint Francis kneeling with his arms outstretched, looking towards a cherub at upper left
Original title: Saint Francis kneeling with his arms outstretched, looking towards a cherub at upper left
kurzbeschreibung
Raphael Sadeler I's 1599 engraving presents Saint Francis of Assisi kneeling with his arms thrown wide, his gaze lifted toward a cherub hovering at the upper left. The bearded saint wears the plain habit with its apron; right beside him another monk kneels, holding a book. A skull rests on a book in the foreground, and a Latin inscription along the bottom margin alludes to Francis's stigmata.
Description
Francis kneels in the foreground, arms open, looking up and to the left at the floating cherub. To his right a second monk holds an open book, while a skull lies on another volume in front of them. Light coming from the left picks out the folds of the garments and the features of the bearded saint. Behind the figures a landscape of trees and rocks opens up, placing the event in nature. Subtle gradations of gray and dense hatching define the sheet, as is characteristic of Renaissance printmaking.
Context
The Flemish engraver Raphael Sadeler I (1560–1628) worked in Antwerp and later in Munich and Venice. His print of 1599 belongs to a period when the Catholic reform movement deliberately circulated images of saints to encourage devotion. Sadeler often drew on designs by other artists; which model underlies this work is not established. The legend of Saint Francis's stigmata was a familiar subject in the late sixteenth century, stressing the saint's union with Christ.
Impact
A quiet, contemplative mood emanates from the engraving, helped by the muted grays and the balanced arrangement of the figures. The exchange of glances between Francis and the cherub creates a spiritual tension that draws the viewer into the devotional scene. Delicately guided lines and the interplay of light and shadow lend the sheet an almost painterly quality that goes beyond ordinary reproductive printmaking.
Technique
For the engraving, the lines were cut into a copper plate with a burin. The subdued gray scale results from varying the density and direction of the hatching, which builds up shading and texture. Sadeler's method is marked by precise parallel hatching and fine cross-hatching, allowing great accuracy of detail in the drapery, the face and the landscape.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)