A Levitation of St Francis

The Levitation of Saint Francis — the mystic rising from the ground during ecstatic prayer — depicted one of the most commonly reported supernatural phenomena in Counter-Reformation hagiography. Ribera's treatment grounds the miraculous event in physical reality, showing the saint's body lifted by invisible force while his rough Franciscan habit hangs with the weight of real cloth. The subject tested the painter's ability to make the supernatural convincing through the very naturalism that defined his artistic identity.

The saint's suspended body is lit from above, creating shadows beneath that emphasize the physical impossibility of the levitation. Ribera's characteristic rough brushwork in the habit fabric contrasts with softer handling of the ecstatic face, conveying the tension between material weight and spiritual transcendence.