St. Francis receiving the Stigmata

El Greco had not been in Spain long when he painted this, around 1580, a few years after settling in Toledo. It shows the moment Saint Francis, at prayer on the mountain of La Verna, saw a vision of the crucified Christ and felt the same wounds open on his own hands. Francis became the saint El Greco returned to more than any other. Counter-Reformation Spain wanted images of penitent, ecstatic holiness, and his Toledo workshop supplied them in quantity. Close to 200 versions of Francis are tied to his shop today, painted by the master, by his son, and by later followers. This one keeps the background almost empty so nothing competes with the figure. Those loose white highlights on the habit are the mark of Venice, where he trained before he ever reached Spain.