Saint Francis in Ecstasy

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione's Saint Francis in Ecstasy portrays the dramatic moment of mystical rapture that was a favorite subject of Counter-Reformation painting. Castiglione, a Genoese painter of extraordinary versatility, brought a dynamic, painterly energy to religious subjects influenced by Rubens and Van Dyck, both of whom worked in Genoa. His fluid, expressive style anticipated the freedom of 18th-century painting.

Castiglione's oil-on-canvas technique is characteristically bold and fluid, with broad, loaded brushstrokes creating dramatic contrasts of light and shadow. The impastoed highlights and transparent dark passages demonstrate the freedom of handling that makes Castiglione a precursor of Romantic painting.