St. Francis in Ecstasy (Bellini)

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St. Francis in Ecstasy

Giovanni Bellini, c. 1480

Oil on panel

124 × 142 cm

Frick Collection, New York

The Ecstasy of St. Francis is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini, who finished it around 1480. It is now housed in the Frick Collection of New York, United States.

The work is signed IOANNES BELLINUS on a small chart visible in the lower left corner.

It portrays St. Francis of Assisi in ecstasy while receiving the stigmata. On left is an immobile donkey which can be interpreted as a symbol of humility and patience, but also of laziness, stupidity or obstinacy. On the right, on a table, is a skull, representing death.