Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy, Flemish school of the 18th - 19th centuries, follower of Anton Van Dyck ...

Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy, Flemish school of the 18th - 19th centuries, follower of Anton Van Dyck (Antwerp, 1599 - Blackfriars, London, 1641)
Composition derived from the original preserved in the Prado Museum (P001478) painted when Van Dyck lived in Antwerp after his return from Italy and before his departure for London. The painting shows Saint Francis in ecstasy, after his meditation on death. It can be identified with a Saint Francis and an Angel Descending from Heaven by Antonio van Dyck that appears in a list of forty-four paintings that the Count of Fuensaldaña acquired in London in 1651 with the help of the painter David Teniers, who acted as his agent. Although we cannot be certain of Fuensaldaña's intention in acquiring the painting, it is possible that he intended to sell it or give it as a gift to Gaspar de Haro (1629-1687), the seventh Marquis of Carpio, in whose collection it is mentioned in a handwritten note that is included in the aforementioned list of paintings acquired by Fuensaldaña, and where it appears inventoried in 16882. The painting passed from the Carpio collection to the Spanish royal collection at the end of the 17th century as payment for a debt (Text extracted from Vergara, A.: La Almoneda del Siglo, Relations artistic between Spain and Great Britain , 1604-1655. Museo Nacional del Prado, 2002, p. 270). Measurements with cornucopia frame: 71 x 64. canvas measurements: 43 x 32 cm