Studio of Domnikos Theotokpoulos, El Greco (1541-1614)

According to Wethey (op. cit., p. 114), El Greco created at least ten different compositions of the Franciscan legend, excluding those compositions which include Saint Andrew. Wethey divides this group into three categories which he identifies as Type I, where the saint gazes heavenward in contemplation of the divine and seems unaware of the crucifix or the skull before him; Type II, where Saint Francis, in profile to the left, glances heavenward, a crucifix and a skull lying before him, and his left arm outstretched while his right hand rests on his chest in a devotional gesture; and Type III, which reworks some of the details in Type I and II, with the saint wearing a cowl and his hands raised in an attitude of wonder.

Wethey (ibid., p. 225) categorizes the present lot as Type III, noting that the composition is based on a painting by El Greco and his workshop in the Muse des Beaux-Arts, Pau, datable to circa 1590-5. In Wethey's opinion none of the versions based on the Pau picture are fully autograph.