St Francis in Meditation

Artist	Caravaggio
Type	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	130 cm × 90 cm (51 in × 35 in)
Location	Museo Civico, Cremona

Saint Francis in Meditation (c. 1604/06 or 1607/10), is a painting by the Italian master Caravaggio, in the Museo Civico, Cremona.

This is one of two paintings of almost identical measurements showing Saint Francis of Assisi contemplating a skull (see Saint Francis in Prayer) - neither is documented and both are disputed, although the dispute is as to whether they are originals or copies. The dating of both is highly uncertain, although the cypress trunk behind this Saint Francis is very reminiscent of the tree behind the Corsini John the Baptist. St Francis was a popular subject during the Counter-Reformation, when the Church stressed - at least officially - the virtues of poverty and the imitation of Christ.

[edit] References

• Gash, John (2004). Caravaggio. ISBN 1-904449-22-0. 

v • d • e Caravaggio List of works 1593–1594 Boy Peeling Fruit (c. 1592) · Young Sick Bacchus (c. 1593) · Boy with a Basket of Fruit · The Fortune Teller (Buona ventura) (c. 1594) · Cardsharps (I bari) (c. 1594) 1595–1599 the Del Monte paintings The Musicians (c. 1595) · Saint Francis of Assisi in Ecstasy (c. 1595) · Saint Francis in Meditation (c. 1595) · Boy Bitten by a Lizard (c. 1596) · Apollo the Lute Player (c. 1596) · The Lute Player (c. 1596) · Bacchus (c. 1596) · Penitent Magdalene (c. 1597) · Rest on the Flight into Egypt (c. 1597) · Medusa (c. 1597) · Portrait of a Courtesan (Fillide Melandroni) (c. 1597) · Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto (c. 1597) · The Fortune Teller (c. 1597–98) · Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1598) · The Sacrifice of Isaac (Princeton version) (c. 1598) · John the Baptist (c. 1598) · Martha and Mary Magdalene (c. 1598) · Portrait of Maffeo Barberini (1598) · Basket of Fruit (c. 1599) · Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1599) · David and Goliath (c. 1599) · Narcissus (c. 1599) · Boy Bitten by a Lizard (c. 1600) 1600–1606 Most famous painter in Rome The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599–1600) · The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew (1599–1600) · The Conversion of Saint Paul (1600) · The Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1601) · The Conversion of Saint Paul on the Road to Damascus (1601) · Supper at Emmaus (London) (1601) · The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew · Amor Victorious (1602) · Saint Matthew and the Angel (1602) · The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602) · John the Baptist (Capitoline) (1602) · John the Baptist (Pamphilij) (c. 1602) · The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (c. 1602) · The Taking of Christ (1602) · Saint Francis in Meditation (Cappuccini) (c. 1603) · The Entombment of Christ (c. 1603) · The Sacrifice of Isaac (1603) · Madonna of Loreto (Madonna dei Pellegrini, Pilgrims' Madonna) (c. 1604) · John the Baptist (Kansas City) (1604) · John the Baptist (Palazzo Corsini) (1604) · The Crowning with Thorns (Prato) (1604) · The Death of the Virgin (1604) · Christ on the Mount of Olives (1605) · Ecce Homo (c. 1605) · Saint Jerome in Meditation (c. 1605) · Saint Jerome Writing (Borghese) (c. 1605) · Portrait of Pope Paul V (1605) · Still Life with Fruit on a Stone Ledge (1605) · Madonna and Child with St. Anne (Madonna de Palafrenieri, Grooms' Madonna) (1606) 1606–1608 Naples and Malta Mary Magdalen in Ecstasy (1606) · Saint Francis in Prayer (Cremona) (1606) · Supper at Emmaus (Milan) (1606) · The Seven Works of Mercy (1606) · The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew (1607) · David with the Head of Goliath (Vienna) (1607) · Madonna of the Rosary (1607) · The Crowning with Thorns (Vienna) (1607) · The Flagellation of Christ (c. 1607) · Christ at the Column (c. 1607) · Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (London) (c. 1607) · Saint Jerome Writing (Valletta) (1607) · Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page (1607–1608) · Portrait of Fra Antionio Martelli (1608) · The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (1608) · Sleeping Cupid (1608) · John the Baptist (John the Baptist at the Fountain) (1608) 1608–1610 Sicily and Naples The Annunciation (1608) · Burial of St. Lucy (1608) · The Raising of Lazarus (1609) · Adoration of the Shepherds (1609) · Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence (1609) · Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (Madrid) (1609) · Denial of Saint Peter (1610) · John the Baptist (Borghese) (1610) · The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula (1610) · David with the Head of Goliath (1610) Works attributed to Caravaggio Still Life with Flowers and Fruit · John the Baptist (Reclining) (1610) · The Tooth Puller (1607–1609) · John the Baptist (Basel) · Boy Peeling a Fruit (c. 1593) · Holy Family with St. John the Baptist · Cardsharps (pre-1594)