“St. Francis in Ecstasy” was painted in 1595 by Caravaggio for his first major benefactor, Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte. Today, it is located in the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut. The sublime painting shows a rather ambiguous moment of an angel gently holding up the seemingly enraptured body of St. Francis of Assisi on a verdant forest floor. The wound on St. Francis’ side would indicate that he recently received the stigmata. Whereas earlier versions of St. Francis receiving the stigmata also depict Christ supported by seraphim, Caravaggio has transformed the event into a deeply personal and internal one. Buona visione!