Artist: Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (Il Grechetto) 

Title: Saint Francis in Ecstasy

Date: 1650

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Providence: Currently in the online gallery of Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Source: http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/647338

Describe: St. Francis is seen on a rocky cliff. He is kneeling down against a rock, looking up at the sky; while holding a crucifix. In this painting the artists uses contrast between light and dark colors. You can see the darkness of the clouds, and then the little light shining through. And you can also see the dark rocks, and then the flourishing green vines. 

Analyze: This painting has many overlapping uses of color. You can see it on the robe that St. Francis is wearing. The artist most likely went over the brown with darker shades to make the sharp wrinkles. Another example of overlapping color is the multiple lines for the skull. For where the eye sockets are the artists probably went over it many times to make it darker. 

Interpret: Many people would say that their eye is drawn to the bright yellow in the midst  of all the dark clouds. Personally, my eye is drawn to the green leaves and the skull and book. The artist uses a dark color system for all of the items above. The green leaves are layered with different greens, the skull is layered with what looks like white and yellow, and the book has many thin pages. This whole painting deals with many different contrasts. 

Judge: In this painting the artist uses warm and dark colors to depict emotion and detail. You can see this in the sky, and in the ground. In all, this painting is beautiful in work and meaning