The Ecstasy of Saint Francis of Assisi

The Ecstasy of Saint Francis of Assisi (c. 1575–80) in the Muzeum Diecezjalne, Siedlce, Poland, is an early treatment of the Franciscan founder in mystical rapture. Francis was one of El Greco's most frequently painted subjects, his combination of poverty, nature mysticism, and the physical drama of the stigmatization offering exceptional pictorial possibilities. In this early version, the saint's ecstasy is rendered with a directness still close to Italian convention, before El Greco's style fully dematerialized the figure into spiritual presence. The rocky cave setting — La Verna, where the stigmata appeared — creates a wilderness of contemplation appropriate to Franciscan spirituality's emphasis on solitary communion with creation.

The upward-gazing saint and the supernatural light create an atmosphere of intense mystical experience, with El Greco's developing elongated style and expressive brushwork conveying the saint's spiritual transport.