Orazio Gentilischi
Vision of St. Francesca Romana
Circa 1615-19
Oil on canvas
Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino, Italy
The painting illustrates one of the saint's visions, in which she sees the glory of Heaven, where the Virgin allows her to hold the Christ Child for a brief moment (Mattioti, 301). The artist suppresses the glories expressed in the text as well as the saint's meditation on the symbolic meanings of the Child's features, focusing instead on the tenderness of the moment.
The figure on the right is the archangel that accompanied Frances during the latter half of her life.
Read more about images of St. Frances of Rome.
Source: Web Gallery of Art via this page at Wikimedia Commons.
