Portiuncula

Portiuncula, dated 1649 and in the Vlaamse Kunstcollectie, depicts the indulgence associated with the small chapel of Santa Maria degli Angeli near Assisi — the Portiuncula — where Francis of Assisi received from Christ and the Virgin Mary a plenary indulgence for all who visited the chapel in a spirit of penitence. The subject was particularly favoured by Franciscan patrons and was painted repeatedly in the seventeenth century as the Franciscan order sought to promote the spiritual privilege of Portiuncula devotion across Catholic Europe. Cornelis Schut's version, a year before Schut's final year of life, shows the celestial vision that Francis receives: Christ and Mary appearing above the chapel. The subject combined mystical vision, devotional privilege, and heavenly imagery — all areas where Schut's style excelled.

On canvas, Schut divides the composition between the terrestrial chapel and the heavenly apparition above. Francis's kneeling, rapturous figure connects the two zones. Warm, supernatural light from the vision above illuminates the saint below in a classical double-light structure. The small Portiuncula chapel may be rendered with architectural detail as a narrative anchor.